


Nefarious

by kanna37



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-07-19
Updated: 2014-06-13
Packaged: 2017-12-20 16:28:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 23,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/889399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kanna37/pseuds/kanna37
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A twisted riff on the canon Inuyasha universe. From the moment that Sesshoumaru sees Kagome for the first time, his blood screams to have her. Unable to deny his desire for her - and not even wanting to - Sesshoumaru turns his attention from his father's fang to the female that is so much more than human. However, Kagome is too innocent to accept his dark desires and in her fear fights him every step of the way. But his blood and the desire for her he is suddenly drowning in will not be denied - not by himself, not by Inuyasha, and not even by Kagome.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Fascination

ne·far·i·ous: adjective - extremely wicked or villainous; iniquitous.

**Chapter 1: Fascination**

Kagome stared up at the new youkai that had just descended from on high riding the shoulder of an enormous oni with shock – and instant fascination.Vivid and wicked, silver-haired and golden-eyed, he stared down at Inuyasha contemptuously, and she couldn't even breathe when his eyes fell on her... his glance boiled the blood in her veins and froze every thought in her mind.

It was liquid sin, his molten-gold gaze, and she found herself unable to move as he stared at her, running his eyes over her – slowly - from head to foot.

 _Who is this guy?_ she wondered, awed. _He's... he's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen..._

Sesshoumaru's gaze moved from his brother to the female standing beside him slowly, and with just as much instant fascination.

 _Human,_ he thought with disgust... but then her scent hit him... _or is she?_ He took another inhale of her scent, and his eyes became heavy-lidded as the call of her blood almost overwhelmed him – her blood spoke not of humanity, _or_ of youkai, but of sheer, intoxicating power... and youth.

 _She is young,_ his eyes trailed down her body, then back up, _but still mature._

 _Mine,_ his youkai blood insisted _._ Scent was the one thing an Inuyoukai could not fight or overrule – scent governed everything, every part of an inu's life, and not even the control-freak that Sesshoumaru was could fight the scent that this girl gave off.

Not that he even wanted to... _he had already been seduced by it._

 _This fool half-breed has no business with a being of such power – and femininity,_ he thought. _I will dominate this female... and my bastard half-brother will watch in vain as I take his little companion from him._

_But first... the sword._

With a glint in his eye that had Kagome's skin rippling warningly, yet heatedly, he held her gaze and spoke for the first time.

She almost fell over on legs suddenly unable to support her.

“Why, it's a human girl,” he purred, scornful amusement clear in his voice.

Kagome narrowed her eyes then, pulled out of her preoccupation with him at his words. “You got a problem with that?” she snapped, temper heating her normal dulcet tones.

Sesshoumaru's brow rose at her response; the amusement deepened and he almost laughed as he turned to his brother.

“How fitting, that you should be dallying with humans. You, with your mortal wretch of a mother, you seek your own level at last.” _Except she is not his level,_ his nose and his blood insisted. _She is way, way out of his reach._

 _Or she will be... once I take her for myself,_ he thought to himself.

Kagome's eyes snapped to Inuyasha's back as he growled in anger, knowing then that her supposition that he was half-human had been correct.

She was appalled when the male – because as beautiful as he was, his masculinity was more than apparent – brought out a carriage with a woman inside he claimed was Inuyasha's mother. _Isn't she dead?_ That question was answered when his vassal, a most annoying toad, claimed that for Sesshoumaru, bringing someone back from the dead was easy.

Of course, from there the fight only heated, and she listened intently to the male – who was Inuyasha's half-brother – explain his demands, before getting lost in her thoughts and confusion.

_Family doesn't act like this... what's this guy's problem?_

She was pulled back from her thoughts to the ongoing confrontation between Inuyasha and this... _person_ , to find that Inuyasha's mother had been thrown to the ground, and she raced over to her and reached out, attempting to help her to safety.

“Are you all right?!” she asked when she reached the woman's side. _What the hell is going on? Why is that youkai doing this – for some grave? That's stupid!_

Sesshoumaru watched the girl run after the false-mother while Inuyasha battled his oni with a slight, weighing smile on his face. _The girl is quick... it will be a pleasure to chase her._

Then he snarled as the boy exhorted her to take the un-mother and run, and moved his oni to attack his brother again – she would _not_ get away.

“You will not!” he hissed, driving down to send the half-breed to the ground. His plan came together as the un-mother attacked in ostensible protection of Inuyasha, instead taking both the girl, and his bastard brother, into Jaken's already prepared illusion.

As they disappeared, he looked down at his gami servant. “Keep the girl from interfering, Jaken.”

“Hai, Sesshoumaru-sama – I will just kill the human filth, that way she will not cause any problems!” he croaked as he toddled into the illusion.

“If she dies, I will kill _you_. I did not say to kill her. You will not touch her, is that clear?”

The toad paled, back-pedaling rapidly. “Oh! Y-yes, Sesshoumaru-sama,” he stuttered. “Do you wish me to bind her, then, instead?”

Sesshoumaru considered that for a moment, then inclined his head curtly. “But make sure you do not harm her – or you will pay. This one has... _plans_ , for her,” he said, “and will not appreciate having to change them because you blundered.”

He followed the slow, waddling pace of his retainer, walking into the illusion a few minutes after him, and his eyes were immediately drawn to where the girl lay, now bound by unseen chains, unable to move or speak.

 _What are you really, girl?_ he thought to himself as he moved closer to her, careful to stay behind her. _The scent that you carry cannot come from a mere human. It is not possible._

He crouched and ran a finger down her cheek, his touch so light as to feel as though it were nothing more than a breeze to the girl that lay before him, struggling to open her eyes and regain her voice.

_She is so soft..._

His blood heated in his veins as he touched her and breathed her in; he was correct – this girl could not be human. She scented of pure power – as though she were born from the gods themselves.

In which case, she should not be with his half-breed brother.

_I will take great pleasure in deciphering the mystery that you are, little one... and in defiling the purity that comes off of you in waves._

_I will make you as wicked as I..._

With a smirk, he stood then; looking to where his brother was being interrogated by the un-mother, he watched as Jaken pushed the thing to probe the boy harder. He moved away from Kagome, wanting to hear what Inuyasha had to say with his own ears. 

Forcing her eyes open after several difficult moments, Kagome struggled to move, to speak, to do anything as she watched the demon impersonating Inuyasha's mother begin to suck him into herself, becoming frantic – until a sharp prick broke the spell she was under, and she reached up and smacked herself in the cheek.

It was Myouga, taking a free snack while she was immobile and unable to smash him.

“Thanks, Myouga, I think I can move now,” she said wryly as she opened her palm to free him. A splash had her looking up; she realized with horror that Inuyasha had been pulled into the water, and that the demon was still trying to suck him into herself.

She also saw that stupid toad that had come with that... gorgeous, but _evil_ youkai moving a boat out into the water to try to get whatever answers he sought from the demon. But it wasn't working, and the moment he moved the boat back to land and climbed out, Kagome flattened him, stomping on his head as she took the staff he was carrying.

She looked around in fear, trying to figure out how to stop what was happening to her friend.

“Kagome, you've got to waken Master Inuyasha's soul!” Myouga said from her shoulder, bouncing up and down in excitement.

“Huh?” she asked, confused. “His soul? How do I do that?” _I'm too late,_ she thought, beginning to panic as most of Inuyasha was now inside the nothing woman. Her gaze fell on the water, and that was when she saw a woman holding an infant.

Then she understood.

_That's part of her spell... her illusion – I have to destroy it!_

Dropping to her knees, she took the staff that she'd grabbed from the ugly toad and splashed it into the water, disrupting the illusion and breaking the spell completely.

As Inuyasha was cast from the illusion back onto solid ground coughing and hacking, Kagome looked around nervously, wondering where the youkai that claimed to be his brother had gone – surely, he was lurking around somewhere...

Sure enough, as Inuyasha crouched angrily on the ground, muttering to himself about it all being a lie, Sesshoumaru stepped forward. He'd been intrigued when the girl had broken the chains around her and decided not to interfere – merely watching as she attacked his retainer and then broke the illusion. He'd gained the knowledge he'd needed, anyway – and gotten a taste of her strength, as well.

_Intoxicating woman-child..._

“All for the best, dear brother,” he said smoothly, turning his attention to the half-breed, “now I know where the grave of our father is.” Moving forward in an instant, he grabbed the hanyou by the throat and lifted him. “I never imagined that it would be in such a place – can you imagine this Sesshoumaru being so blind?”

He chuckled mockingly, the sound causing a shiver to run down Kagome's spine.

“Trust father to hide his grave in such an odd place. The left black pearl... hmph. That must have taken a powerful bit of magic – he was determined to escape desecration, was he not?”

Inuyasha growled down at his brother as he tried to escape his grasp. “What kind of stupid shit are you babbling?!”

“Was the secret entrusted to you without your knowledge? Come along, then, and we'll visit father's grave together,” he said as he plunged his fingers into his brother's eye, drawing out a small, black object covered in blood which burned away at Sesshoumaru's touch.

Kagome stared, wide-eyed, as the daiyoukai impaled his brother's eye on two fingers, horrified, but unable to look away. _He's horrible! Why is he doing this... and why am I unable to look away from him? He's evil!_

She ran forward as he tossed Inuyasha down, coming to rest over him protectively. “Stop it!” she yelled defiantly, unafraid and angry.

He ignored her interruption as he stared at the object in his hand.

“It is no wonder I could not find it no matter how thoroughly I scoured the earth... I had only one clue to it's whereabouts... 'a place that can see, yet cannot be seen, a place its own guardian can never look upon'. So clear now,” he mused, a smirk once more crossing his face, “that the 'grave' is the black pearl that he conjured into your left eye.”

 _That's the grave?_ Kagome thought, scowling up at an amused Sesshoumaru. He pinned her with his lightening gaze, then, and she swallowed heavily at the heat that suddenly swirled through his eyes. _Why does he keep staring at me like that?_

_Soon, little woman, I will have the sword – and then I will take you, too. Inuyasha will have nothing left..._

His attention once more went to his angry whelp of a brother when his ears were assaulted by the boy's grating voice.

“Huh. All this, for that pebble even... giving that witch the form of my mother.” He leapt at his brother then. “You won't get away with it!” he yelled.

Sesshoumaru simply jumped up, avoiding his brother's clumsy attack with amusement. “I am rather busy – if you wish to delay me, I will just have to kill you.” He moved to impale his brother on one clawed hand, but suddenly, the un-mother threw herself before him, taking the attack instead of Inuyasha – and the hanyou and Kagome stared at her, stunned.

“The nothing woman... she protected him?” Kagome asked Myouga, who was still on her shoulder, unable to believe what she'd just seen.

“She's a demon born of a mother's love for her lost child – if she sees him being attacked, what else can she do?” he replied with a shrug of tiny shoulders.

“My boy,” the doomed demon whispered, and then she was gone, as Sesshoumaru stepped into the remains of the demon that his claws had destroyed.

“Worthless fool,” he said, staring down at the remains with contempt. Turning on his heel, he began to move away, determined to get the sword so he could get back and take the girl – until he was halted once again by her voice.

“You rotten, murdering...!” she began as her temper got the best of her, only to be interrupted by Myouga.

“No! Stop! Whoa! Don't antagonize him – you'll get _me_ killed, too!”

Kagome looked down at him, irate. “Listen, coward...” she stopped suddenly, her attention going to the stupid toad she'd so thoroughly stomped as he finally groaned and stood up, reaching immediately for the staff he seemed so fond of.

“Clever lad that I am, M'Lord, I've found the head-staff again!” he croaked.

“Next time, you will lose your own head with it,” Sesshoumaru replied warningly, turning his attention to the toad. Then he looked down at the pearl in his hand. “How long I have awaited this moment...” he took the staff from Jaken, and smashed it into the pearl that he had placed on the ground – and Kagome watched, spell-bound, as power flashed as the pearl sparked... and a dark portal suddenly sprang open before them all.

 _Black light..._ she was startled when Sesshoumaru and his toad suddenly disappeared. _Where the...?_

By the time Inuyasha gathered himself and started to order Kagome to stay behind, she was already halfway into the portal, determined to catch that youkai and give him a piece of her mind.

“Idiot! Sesshoumaru's in there!” he shouted at her, annoyed that she just continually seemed to jump into danger.

“Well, then, if I'm gonna _pound_ him, I'd better be there, too!” she yelled back, still irate, and yet, unable to stop thinking about that male.

He was a jerk – but there was something drawing her to him, too, and she was going to figure out what it was if it was the last thing she did.

~oOo~

“ _Well, then, if I'm gonna pound him, I'd better be there, too!”_

With a gasp, Kagome woke and sat up almost frantically as she shivered in the cool night air.

 _Why am I dreaming about that... again?_ With a sigh, she reached up and wiped the little bit of sweat away from her forehead. _It's been a week since that all happened – and yet I dream about it every night. Why?_

She closed her eyes and let herself see him in her mind's eye once more. Tall, much taller than Inuyasha and with the same silver hair, though it was longer, and golden eyes. Yet, he had all those colorful markings – attractive markings that Inuyasha didn't carry. She wondered what they were for.

Well dressed, obviously wealthy, unlike his little brother, his clothes spoke of elegance and his armor of precision and care.

Beautiful, yes, gorgeous, yes... enough to get any female's attention. But he was _nefarious._ So why was she so fascinated? She should have been nothing but repulsed – and yet, repulsed was completely the opposite of the truth of the matter.

She was attracted – _drawn_ to the sexy male.

Frustrated, she huffed to herself and climbed out of her sleeping roll to head out the door of Kaede's hut, careful not to disturb the elderly miko. It was apparent that Inuyasha was once again sleeping somewhere outside – but that was fine by her – she didn't want company at this time.

No, she needed to be alone.

Her mind wandered from the dream to what had happened with the rest of that confrontation – and she grimaced. Because that beautiful youkai was now minus an arm... courtesy of Inuyasha – and his new sword.

That sword had been the whole reason that Sesshoumaru had been after his brother, it turned out – but it had rejected him most violently, burning his hand as he'd tried to draw it.

Then it had resisted Inuyasha, too...

 _And yet_ , she blushed, _it let me pull it from its resting place. I wonder why?_ It had certainly left an impression on Sesshoumaru – he'd stared at her even harder, and she'd felt the heat of his gaze as though it were a physical touch on her.

“ _What are you, girl?”_ he'd asked, every bit of his formidable attention pinned to her in that moment.

She shivered then, as she remembered what had come next... him pouring his poison over her in an attempt to kill her... or so it had seemed. And yet, she had noted the look in his eye that spoke of something else at the time – and it still bothered her.

_What did that look mean? And the look he gave me when Inuyasha cut off his arm? Even though he'd transformed, the way he looked at me – it was as though... it was like he was telling me he'd return. Like... he didn't want to leave._

_But that couldn't be it, could it? He doesn't know me, and apparently doesn't like humans. So why...?_

She shook her head, then, flustered and annoyed at herself for not being able to get it out of her mind.

This whole thing was something entirely beyond her – she'd never dealt with anything of this sort, so she had no experience in being attracted to someone. After all, she was only seventeen – the only daughter of a shrine family, kept protected and pure.

_Though that doesn't seem to matter here – girls as young as thirteen are married off as long as they've had their first courses. It's just the way things are done in this time, I guess... but it's totally different in my time. I'm not ready to deal with a man in such a manner..._

And then, of course, in this situation there was the corollary that the one in question wasn't even a _man_ – he was a _male –_ an inuyoukai male. At first glance, that might not look like much of a difference... but it was a _huge_ one, in truth.

_Of course, he's a dog demon – and the only one that I could even ask about this would be Inuyasha – but that wouldn't go over at all well. So what does that leave me?_

And then something occurred to her – perhaps there was some kind of information on inuyoukai at home... in the shrine artifacts and scrolls that her grandfather was always so proud of. Perhaps she could find out some useful information there – or possibly search the internet for stories and myths that might tell her something.

It was a start, and she sighed as she turned and stared out over the forest on one side, and the rice paddies of the village on the other in the bright moonlight. _Yes... it would be a start, but..._

But for all her thoughts, she was pretty sure that she wasn't going to find out what to do about her predicament from any of those sources.

No, she had the feeling that the only way she was going to be finding out about Sesshoumaru...

Was straight from Sesshoumaru himself.

Somehow, that thought was not comforting at all.

~oOo~

Inuyasha growled suddenly, warningly, staring challengingly out into the trees as he paused in his restless rounds of the village.

The moment he'd stepped this close to the trees, he'd caught the aura of the one being he never wanted to be around again.

Sesshoumaru.

“Back already, bastard – even after I cut your arm off, you're still coming around here to take the sword back?” he challenged.

There was no reaction for a moment, then the silent figure of his hated brother stepped from the trees to stare at him. He didn't speak a word.

“Huh. Cat got your tongue – just like the sword got your arm?” he taunted. “You should be careful, Sesshoumaru – if you keep losin' parts you won't even be worth spittin' on.”

Still, no acknowledgment from the silver Inu Lord, and Inuyasha began to get a little uneasy. Sesshoumaru was just standing there – as though he were awaiting something.

Inuyasha stared hard at him, but there was no movement – until Kagome came pounding up behind him, breathing a little heavy as she stared at the male standing his ground just a few feet away.

“Inuyasha... what's he doing here?” she asked quietly, gazing at the daiyoukai distrustfully.

The moment that Kagome had appeared, Sesshoumaru's gaze moved to her as though he were dismissing his brother entirely. The hanyou's hackles immediately began rising at the look on the bastard's face – it wasn't something he could decipher... and he didn't like that. A person needed to know exactly where they stood with that prick if they intended to survive any encounters with him.

Drawing the sword, he swung it under Sesshoumaru's nose. “What the hell _are_ you doing here, you son-of-a-bitch?”

Sesshoumaru wasn't even having to try to ignore the half-breed – the moment the female's scent hit his nose, his brother's unpleasant one diminished to nothing. Holding her gaze with his own now smoldering one, he lifted his nose just slightly and scented the air – and it was clear that, though she was not inu, she knew what he was doing, as a flush spread across her cheeks.

He smirked – his point had been made to her. She was now aware that he could scent her attraction to him, and that he was watching – he was done here for now. With one last, lingering look, he pushed the Tessaiga aside with one finger, ignoring the small spark it sent skittering against his flesh, then turned on his heel and faded back into the shadows beneath the trees – all without speaking one word.

Within moments, you couldn't even tell he'd been there.

The minute his eyes left hers Kagome's knees wobbled and she actually fell, unable to maintain her balance as she was once again able to breathe.

In the instant that his eyes had met hers, she'd felt the impact all the way to her soul. It was sensual, hot, _desirous,_ and she had no way to fight it. Just his _gaze_ was enough to send her blood through her veins with a thick heat that sensitized every nerve in her body.

And it left her desperately drawing air once again as the white youkai with the dark heart disappeared. Her blood roared in her ears, deafening her to Inuyasha's confused and angered ranting after his brother as he sheathed the sword, then turned to glare at her.

“What the _fuck_ was that all about, Ka-go-me, huh?” he asked acidly, seemingly offended by her bewildered expression.

She looked up at him finally and shook her head, not knowing what to say. “I... I don't know,” she whispered, dazed confusion clear in her gaze. Her eyes wandered back to where Sesshoumaru had disappeared, and her mind spoke one word to her.

_Obsession..._

She was pulled from her confusion by Inuyasha's rough voice saying, “Feh – stupid wench. Go back to Kaede's and get some sleep. And don't come back out, got it? Something's up with that bastard, and I don't want him getting his hands on you.”

She nodded absently, not even really listening to him as her innocent mind fought against the instinctive knowledge that Sesshoumaru's actions was forcing into it. Standing up slowly, she moved off silently, not noticing the sharp look her hanyou companion was leveling on her as she turned and walked away.

 _Obsession,_ her mind whispered again...

Shivering in visceral, virginal fear, she felt his eyes on her back – he was watching her from somewhere in those trees, and it was like being stared at by a hungry predator.

It was as real as if he was running his hands over her bare flesh.

 

 

 

 


	2. Fixation

Sesshoumaru stared out towards the village from his spot in the forest and thought darkly on the events of the last several weeks.

Things had completely changed for him the moment he'd gotten a single whiff of that girl's powerful, drugging, intoxicating, _wonderful_ scent. He couldn't ignore that scent; it was like a siren's call to his blood, his instincts – it touched something primal and ancient inside him...

It called to everything that made him youkai.

That was all part of being Inu. Nothing spoke more to an inu than scent, and no true inu could ever turn away from a scent that called to them as hers did to him. So this fixation that he had developed with the female named Kagome was out of his control – he would never be able to break away from her, no matter how controlled he was.

He did not even want to.

Though she presented as a human, she was power, plain and simple, and he had no care what anyone else thought – she would belong to him. With the scent and power that she carried, she was _meant_ to be his, and he would take great pleasure in taking the girl-child that she was, and making her a woman... _his_ woman.

 _Corrupt her,_ his blood whispered. _Taint her, mark her, teach her to want_. _Show her desire..._

_Seduce her._

Through eyes heavy-lidded and dilated almost black, he could see her tiny form writhing before him and beneath him, around him and above him, crying out his name – gifting him with her virgin's blood as he took her, and then more blood as he marked her.

He could almost taste her...

He shivered as waves of pleasure trailed down his spine – but then his eyes narrowed in anger and glowed redly; there was something that stood in his way...

Inuyasha.

Again. _Always_.

It seemed that the boy stood in his path anytime there was something that the elder youkai wanted. First, taking their father from he and his mother, then the sword – his father's fang, a powerful relic... and now, the female that he _craved_ with every beat of his heart, with every breath he drew that was laden with her scent.

This whole area was covered in that divine smell, and it was firing his determination, his need to have it, to bathe himself in it, to claim it for his own.

But it was clear that in order to do so he would have to separate the dainty girl from his half-brother – permanently, of course.

He shifted in the tree that he was hidden in, eyes once again sweeping the village before him as he sought to catch sight of his prize. He needed to come up with a way to get him away from her... but how?

How to come between them?

He certainly didn't want the two to grow any closer than they already were – it was bad enough that she cared for the half-breed as much as she did. The odd part about it was that the stupid hanyou had no idea what he was dealing with in the girl, and treated her as though she were lower than the dirt he walked on - most of the time.

Was the fool truly that blind? Or was there, perhaps, something more to his treatment of her? Who was this strange, powerful woman-child that wore such strange clothing, carried articles of design that even he had never seen – and knowledge that only the most honored scholars had even guessed at?

She was a mystery – a cipher of unknown proportions, a blank, a puzzle he was determined not only to understand – but to claim as his own.

~oOo~

Almost a month later, Sesshoumaru nodded in satisfaction – Urasue would do as he'd been sure she would when he gave her the idea to resurrect the late miko, Kikyou. After all, she wanted to find the shards of that useless jewel as much as his mutt of a brother seemed to.

But with the information Jaken had dug up, pointing to his brother's involvement and infatuation with the dead woman, he was sure that this would work as a way to separate the female of _his_ desires from his brother. After all, it would be difficult for them to form any closer attachment with the whelp busy chasing an undead corpse...

Now all he had to do was sit back and watch his scheme to separate Inuyasha and Kagome take shape.

He'd honestly been surprised when Jaken had come back with the information about what had _really_ happened to get his fool of a half-brother pinned to the tree he'd been hanging from for so long. It just seemed to be too good to be true – that the hanyou would be so easy to topple from his place at the girl's side.

He should have known that it _was_ too good to be true...

Jaken barely survived the beating he took when Urasue made her move, only for him to find out that the girl, Kagome, was actually the _reincarnation_ of the miko of his brother's past – and that in order for the witch to bring Kikyou back, Kagome would have to die.

The only reason he did survive was because Kagome _also_ survived.

Sesshoumaru was infuriated, yes, at the risk that she'd been placed under – yet also pleased to see her power in action. No other being in history had ever been able to do what she had, calling her soul back from the spell it had been bound by. That spell, used in that manner, had always been universally fatal to the one it had been used against.

But not her.

It only reaffirmed his decision to take her – reaffirmed his desire for her, his obsession for her, told him that he was _right_ to want her.

The more he learned of her, the more he wanted to learn, the more he wanted _her_. His previous want of the Tessaiga, the thing he'd spent literally years searching non-stop for was dropped by the wayside without a second thought, left as unneeded now – nothing had ever held his attention as this girl did.

Answers about her were so scarce, so difficult to come by, only stoking his want of her higher and higher as his frustration that he couldn't find out more, that he couldn't seem to part her from his damned brother, that he couldn't take her for himself _right now,_ grew _._ He burned, he yearned for her flesh, for her soul, for everything that made her Kagome... and for more knowledge of her. He would never be satisfied until she was his in every way that existed, until everything there was to know of her was known by him.

She would not be allowed to remain a mystery, not to him. He would know her and all her secrets, and to that end, he watched her. After that fiasco with Urasue, he watched her constantly, unwilling to ever again let anything endanger her.

And that was how, on a bright sunny day, he found out about her origins.

No one was more shocked or intrigued than he... or more convinced that she should belong to him.

“The future...”he breathed, eyes narrowed. “She knows the future... what a prize I have found. There is no way I will ever allow her to escape my grasp.”

~oOo~

Kagome sat on the edge of the well and stared off into the forest, caught up in her thoughts. She'd just returned from her time, but she had so much on her mind that she couldn't stand the thought of dealing with Inuyasha at this point... he was still too angry and frustrated over the mess with Kikyou to be good company... and besides, her mind was stuck on another Inu altogether.

She was well aware that he was constantly around. Almost every moment she was in this era she could feel his aura caressing hers... she was actually surprised that Inuyasha hadn't noticed, himself. She supposed his brother was hiding his presence from him... and only letting her feel him.

And feel him she did.

Every waking moment she felt him, felt the heaviness of his youki, the darkness of his aura, yet the oddly contradictory light of his soul - she was becoming obsessed with him - she almost couldn't think of anything else, and it was getting hard to hide her preoccupation with the wickedly beautiful male from her hanyou companion.

Perhaps the fact that she was so used to feeling his aura was the reason that she didn't realize he was upon her until he was holding her against a tree on the other side of the well-clearing.

Sesshoumaru's eyes almost rolled into the back of his head as his eyelids slid closed in the ecstasy of truly touching her, of being so close to her that her scent was clouding his mind... his blood thickened in his veins and he was instantly aroused, his member so hard so suddenly that he felt light-headed.

Gritting his teeth at the rush of blood and desire, he lowered his head to her throat and inhaled, drawing in as much of her scent as he could possibly hold in his lungs. His fingers tightened around her upper arm, an involuntary reaction to his sexual hunger, and her whimper only deepened the fog clogging his mind.

“Tell me, little woman... what are you, really?” he whispered in her ear. “I want to know... _need_ to know...” he trailed off, almost unable to even speak at the feel of her and the sheer passion he felt.

He was not unused to bed play – no inu worth his salt remained untouched the moment he reached sexual maturity – but nothing in the almost three hundred years of his had prepared him for his reactions to this one tiny female. Never had anything more than physical pleasure been had; this went so far beyond that it was almost pure. This involved every bit of what made him Sesshoumaru – his mind, his heart, his soul... and his youkai blood – all of it yearned for this woman. All of it was affected by her.

It was apparent that fascination was mutual from the scent coming from her, but just as apparent that, unlike him, who had no desire to hide from it, she fought it. She was frightened by him, by what he made her feel.

“I'm a human, Sesshoumaru,” she finally whispered back. “One of those beings that you hate – so you should let me go. You wouldn't want my presence to _taint_ you.”

He chuckled at that, honestly amused at her attempt to dissuade him from his chosen path. “Do you think that will work? This one will never second-guess himself once his choice has been made, miko. And make no mistake-” he pressed further into her, letting her feel his reaction to her, “-my choice has been made. Nothing will keep me from what I want. Not even you.”

She whimpered again at his words, her eyes widening in shock as she felt his arousal grinding into her belly. Panic-stricken, she stared at him, fear freezing her where she was. “B-but... _why?_! _I don't understand_...” she trailed off, tears of fear and frustration gathering in her eyes.

Lifting his hand, he drew a finger down her cheek, then cupped it. “Because I want you – there is no other answer. And because I want you, I will have you. You will be mine, girl, there is no other option for you.”

Thinking irrationally through her fear, she asked, “So... if I sleep with you, you'll be done with me and go away?”

Lips tilting into a dangerous half-smile, he shook his head, silver tresses caressing her bare arms as they flared around the two. “Oh, no, little woman, it will not be that easy for you. No... you will never get away from me. I mean to claim you in the way of my kind – and that claim is permanent. _Forever_ permanent.”

Kagome's eyes widened even further as fear and desire clashed inside her. She didn't know what to think – this being before her frightened her, yet he was apparently her own brand of poison; he held a fascination for her that she knew instinctively she would never be free of.

Suddenly, he let go of her, spinning to catch his brother's blade on Tenseiga – while he'd been otherwise occupied, Inuyasha had appeared, and seeing him with Kagome had attacked without considering the consequences of his actions.

“You _fool_!” he hissed, enraged. “Do you _try_ to endanger her?!”

Mouth hanging open, Kagome stared at the daiyoukai in front of her. _He... did he just..._ _protect_ _me?_ she thought incredulously.

“What the fuck are you doing with her, bastard?! You'd better stay the hell away!” Inuyasha shouted, whipping Tessaiga to the side and leaping back, hoping to draw Sesshoumaru away from Kagome.

Unfortunately for him, that little maneuver didn't work; the daiyoukai held his ground, still hovering protectively before the female he desired with everything that made him Sesshoumaru – that made him _youkai._

“Did you think to pull me away from her? I am not so blind as that, _mutt_. So, what will you try now, hmm?” Sesshoumaru mocked, every sense not busy on Inuyasha pinned on Kagome. He would keep her safe - even from herself if need be.

It was apparent that his baka half-brother still had no self-control when he became angered, as had just been demonstrated; angry, he was a danger even to those who were supposedly his friends or allies. This was not acceptable.

“Get away from her!” the hanyou howled. “ _I_ protect Kagome!”

“You have no control, Inuyasha! You claim to protect her? And yet you do not even seem to care that you could have killed her with your wild swings! You are an embarrassment to our father's proud blood!” he snapped acidly.

“Shut the fuck up, Sesshoumaru! You don't know shit about me!” the enraged hanyou spat back.

“It is more than apparent to anyone with eyes, fool, there is no need to 'know' you!” Eyes sparking red as his anger began to override his own logical mind, he glared threateningly at Inuyasha. “You have proven incapable of caring for anything, half-breed, so perhaps I should take her from you now and be done with it,” he said, voice rough and guttural, dark and heavy with promise.

Kagome was still pressed against the tree, staring at Sesshoumaru in shock. _All of this... he's defending me! Against Inuyasha! But... but why? I don't understand why he seems so fascinated with me – I'm just another human!_

“She isn't yours to worry about, you overbred son-of-a-bitch!” Inuyasha shouted, and something in that statement suddenly calmed Sesshoumaru's dark heart.

With an icily amused smirk, he stepped back, once more in perfect control. “And you are so certain, hanyou?” he asked, voice dangerously soft, insinuating. “Do you say she is yours, then?”

“Keh! Kagome's _my_ shard detector – what's it to ya, huh, prick?!” Inuyasha growled.

Those words finally woke Kagome up from her Sesshoumaru-induced stupor, and her eyes flashed angrily as she glared at the arrogant hanyou, flushing becomingly in her temper.

“Osuwari! I'm not _your_ anything, Inuyasha! No one owns me, least of all you! I'm searching for the shards of the Shikon jewel because it came from _my_ body and _I_ broke it – that's the _only_ reason!”

Sesshoumaru was once again stunned as he gleaned more knowledge of his obsession. _That jewel that so many youkai seek came from her? Perhaps I should just listen to this fight; I may learn more about her, and straight from the source, too._ His attention was pulled back to the argument, something inside him almost laughing at the sight of his baka brother forced to the ground by just one word from the little female.

“Well, then maybe I'll just take my chances and look for the shards myself, bitch!” the hanyou barked, and Kagome glared even harder at him.

“ _Osuwariiii_ , Inuyasha,” she sang again, watching with her hands on her hips as he pounded deeper into his crater. “It wouldn't do you any good, stupid – I'm the only one that can put them back together and you know it, so stop trying to make me mad. It's not gonna work!”

 _So she is the jewel's mistress,_ the daiyoukai surmised. _I know the legends of the jewel's provenance – how then did she come to carry it within her... and why does it purify only for her?_

“So? What does that matter, as long as I can find them?” Inuyasha snapped back, pulling his face from the dirt it was in.

“Fat lot of good the stupid thing would do you if it was in pieces and tainted, you idiot,” she shot back. “All it would do is take you over and you'd be nothing but its toy.” As he opened his mouth to growl at her, she pointed at him threateningly, and his mouth closed as he realized that he was in a very untenable situation – with his brother right near him.

“Listen to me, Inuyasha. You need to just shut up before I go right back home, and then where will you be? I'm not putting up with your lip right now – I am _really_ not in the mood.”

Startling her, Sesshoumaru cut in at that moment, reminding her of his presence. She whipped around to face him, eyes widening as she wondered how in the hell she could have forgotten _him._

“It seems that you are even more pathetic than I thought, Inuyasha,” he mocked, “falling to a weak mortal spell.” He eyed the necklace around his brother's neck for a moment. And then an evil smirk lifted his lips. “I bet you do not even realize the provenance of those beads, do you? How like you to be so blind – and stupid,” he finished, biting contempt in his voice.

“Keh!” Inuyasha, heated rage at his brother fueling him, pushed to his feet and lunged threateningly at him, missing by a mile as Sesshoumaru merely side-stepped out of the way. “Kaede made 'em!”

“No, she did not, fool. The signature of power that binds them _is_ weak, but it is not hers. They were created by another,” his evil smirk widened as he sank the knife into his brother deeply, “they were created by your undead lover. She created those beads to control you – and it looks as though, despite their weakness, they work quite well to bind you. But that is not surprising,” he finished, his gaze once more going to the object of all his wants, dismissing his brother as unimportant, “since you are so weak, yourself.”

His words froze Inuyasha in his tracks for a second, shock and hurt clawing up his throat. “You lie,” he hissed, then leapt at his brother once more.

Only, in his rage, he didn't take into account that Kagome was now between them.

Sesshoumaru reacted instantly, placing himself before her once again, a rage answering his brother's now in his once-more reddening eyes as he snarled challengingly at the hanyou. With no further patience, he attacked and within moments Inuyasha was on his back on the other side of the glen, laid out and unconscious.

He held himself there for several seconds, trying to regain control. It took much effort, but once his blood slowed, he turned to face the young woman behind him who was staring at him in wary shock.

“I don't understand you, Sesshoumaru,” she whispered after a silent moment. “In your father's remains you tried to kill me with your poison... _now_ you want to save me?”

He took an involuntary step towards her, stopping only when she stepped back in answer. His eyes narrowed at that. “You are mistaken, Ka-go-me,” he said, his voice rumbling from deep in his chest. “I have never tried to kill you, for if I had, you would be dead. In my father's remains I used my poison to melt the bone so it would form a cage to keep you out of the fight between the half-breed bastard and I. I'll not suffer anything to harm that which I desire, not even myself.”

“That's a lie,” she managed to get out, her voice husky – she didn't notice the shiver it sent down the daiyoukai's spine, but he certainly noted the effect. “You told Inuyasha that he would never see me again – you meant to kill me!”

In the blink of an eye, she once again found him right in front of her, and she gasped. His eyes were haloed in red, and he no longer seemed interested in their conversation. “Oh, I meant those words, but only in the context as a warning to him – once you are mine, he never will see you again.”

Kagome inhaled deeply, trying to get enough oxygen to her hazy mind, which just caused her to take in the inuyoukai's totally intoxicating scent – he smelled of winter, crisp and clean, edged with pine and mint, and it took every bit of determination she had to push him away when all she really wanted to do was melt into him.

“No... I don't _want_ you. I don't want to go with you. _I won't!_ ” she rasped out, repudiating him, though it took everything she had to say those words to him.

He stepped back, then, his eyes cooling as he considered her thoughtfully for a few seconds. “You lie – to yourself and to me. But I can wait, little woman,” he said, his voice becoming smug. “You will only last so long, and then your need will overwhelm you. When that time arrives, I will come – and then it will all be over for you, make no mistake. You will be mine, willingly – you merely delay the inevitable with your caviling.”

And with one last enigmatic glance at her, he turned and walked away, disappearing back into the forest like a ghost.

Kagome stared after him for long, frozen moments, unable to move... then her knees gave out and she slumped to the ground, exhausted from fighting his desires...

...and her own.

 _This is wrong! w_ as the only thought that rang despairingly through her mind, even as she stared at Inuyasha, still laying where he'd fallen.

_Inuyasha..._

 


	3. Encounters

“ _Sesshoumaru!”_

Sitting up with a gasp, Kagome rapidly blinked eyes blinded by the darkness around her as she tried to adjust to the low light. Still caught in whatever nightmare had catapulted her out of her sleep, she didn't realize that there was a pair of narrowed golden eyes watching her – because she'd gasped that forbidden name aloud.

Trying to catch her breath and force the thoughts of a certain Inu Lord of her acquaintance out of her mind, she panted, chest heaving with the strain.

 _Why can't I stop thinking about him? He keeps invading even my dreams,_ she thought, fingers clasping her head in frustration. _He's dark, depraved, and evil, and nothing that I want to be around!_

But even as she tried to convince herself, she knew she was lying – her entire body hurt with how badly she wanted him. It was confusing, and left her in a state of bewilderment that wouldn't let her go.

She had never been attracted to the bad boy type before, the only boy she had ever liked back home, in an innocent way, had been Hojo – who was the complete antithesis of a bad boy. He was the quintessential nice guy – the kind your mother wanted to see you with. He was bright, ambitious, and of good family – they traced their roots even further back into the past than she had found herself in.

That was the kind of guy she liked.

Or at least, that was the kind of guy she had _thought_ she liked.

Sesshoumaru was nothing like that at all. Wicked, self-centered and egotistical, filled with hatred of humanity and his brother, he should have made her skin crawl in revulsion. Only... it wasn't revulsion she felt whenever she thought about him.

Sure, he was gorgeous. If she were to be absolutely truthful with herself, he was the most ungodly beautiful thing she'd ever seen.

“Yes, that's true... he is most beautiful,” she whispered to herself, still unaware of the golden-eyed hanyou staring at her with ever narrowing eyes, “but he's dangerous! I shouldn't even be thinking about him – I've got a dangerous enough mission to think about right now, and I really don't need all the sleepless nights. This has to stop,” she finished with a groan.

But even though she knew she was right, she also knew it wouldn't matter – he was in her mind, and there was no way she would be able to evict him now. He was, rather, taking over more and more, infiltrating every part of her thoughts. It was untenable and infuriating.

If this didn't stop soon, he'd have completely taken over...

And that was just what he wanted, just what he'd said would happen.

With a despondent sigh, she laid back down, surprised for a moment that she hadn't woken Shippo up when she'd sat up so suddenly. But she was glad she hadn't, and snuggling up to the little kit they'd rescued so recently, she sighed once more and let her eyes drift closed, slowly falling back to sleep.

Up in the tree above her, Inuyasha's eyes flared angrily – he'd heard her call out Sesshoumaru's name, and what she'd said afterward, and a simmering rage settled low in his gut.

He would not allow that bastard his father had sired first to have her.

~oOo~

Sesshoumaru was enraged.

How badly he wanted to wrap his hands around the throat of that monk! How dare the weak fool touch what was not his – and then, even worse - Inuyasha, _holding_ her!

The pure _fury_ that had run through him during their encounter with the monk... it was a miracle that either male was still alive, and a testament to his control. Kagome still wasn't aware that the monk had seen her bathing, as well. That was a sight he himself would never forget – but it infuriated him that another had seen her in such a state of vulnerability.

It had been all he could do to stay away, but he had told her that he would leave her be for a time – time that he knew full well would only heighten her desire for him.

It pleased him that she desired him with the same intensity he did her, and it only added to his conviction that she was meant to be his. Just what it was that was drawing them together was unknown – but by now, the great daiyoukai of the west no longer even cared to think about it, he simply didn't find it important. She called to what made him youkai, and he called back to her, drawing her to him just as strongly as he was to her. It was a circle, endless and eternal, perfect and never to be broken.

It was as simple as that.

Still, that other males traveled with her as he could only dream of doing, aggravated his youkai instincts to take her and claim her, and sooner or later, it would happen. He would only be able to hold out for so long – and he hoped it was long enough.

Because he did not want to take her while she was still so unwilling and fighting her want of him. He wanted her to break down and come to him willingly – to want him as freely as he did her. And there was more than one reason for that, too... it wasn't just because he didn't want to force her – of course he didn't want to harm her in that way, he had no desire to break her spirit. But... it would also break his fool of a half-brother if she came to him willingly, choosing him freely.

It was apparent to him, and others, as well, that the whelp cared for the young woman far more than he would admit and Sesshoumaru found that the knowledge that the longer he waited, the more the fool would have invested in her and the more pained he would be when she repudiated him soothed his ever present need just a bit.

It was enough to keep hold of his sanity... for now.

In the meantime he would continue to watch, coming and going with no one the wiser. That way, he could make sure she remained safe, and also, he would be able to learn more of her. The more he could pick up about her, the better he would like it – he would not be content until he knew everything there was to know of the woman named Kagome.

Eyes narrowed, he looked down at his hand, clenching it just a bit as frustration kicked in over the loss of his arm. It sent a shaft of rage through him that his damned brother had taken his ability to hold the female he was determined to claim with both arms. Instead, he was left marred and incomplete.

He felt betrayed, in a way... that the Tessaiga, his father's own fang, had maimed him – after it had rejected him. Because he was youkai, he could not even touch the blade – his sire had bespelled it, to make sure that he couldn't have it. Had he hated his heir so much?

 _Chichi-ue..._ he wrenched his mind away from the useless upwelling of hurt the thought of his sire and the circumstances of the past always engendered in him. They were thoughts with no purpose and he had better things to think of now than his sire's contempt towards him.

_Still, Kagome aside... I will take the Tessaiga as well – even if only so Inuyasha doesn't have it._

With one last glance at his obsession, Sesshoumaru faded into the forest, leaving the small, but growing group alone for now. He had some thinking to do.

~oOo~

“So you are the great Sesshoumaru-sama,” came a sibilant voice, and Sesshoumaru paused in his step, though he did not turn around.

He'd known something was following him for a while, but when he'd scented the beast, he'd been disgusted and dismissed the being from his thoughts – it was a mere hanyou. A spider hanyou, at that. Weak.

Nothing but vermin to one such as he.

But now... that worthless thing was speaking to him.

“Leave, insect. I have no use for half-breeds,” he said, voice icy and controlled.

He could feel the flare of anger from the being, yet still, he did not turn around. He was surprised, though, when the anger was held in.

“Perhaps not most half-breeds, Sesshoumaru-sama, but this particular hanyou could be of use to you.”

Sesshoumaru, poised to continue on his way, once more stopped, and finally turned around to face the being daring to interrupt him.

Though surprised at the sight that met his eyes, he did not show it, instead taking silent stock of his opponent.

Covered in a baboon pelt, crouching before him, the spider hanyou that seemed to be trying to hide what he was watched him carefully, and Sesshoumaru simply watched him back, not saying a word.

That seemed to almost amuse the spider.

“I know of your desire for the sword that Inuyasha carries. And your inability to just take it. The barrier on the blade is most troublesome,” he said sympathetically. “But... if you were to take a human arm and use it, you could bypass the barrier altogether, and have that which you desire. I could... _assist_ you in this matter.”

Silent for several moments longer, Sesshoumaru considered the spider before him. He had no qualms with using the beast. “And what would the price be for the assistance that you offer? he asked coldly.

“Oh, only something that you would enjoy – all I want, Sesshoumaru-sama, is Inuyasha's death. I know that you hate him for the stain on your family's honor. Since his death is a thing that would please us both, that is all I would ask in return for my assistance in gaining the sword,” he responded, his voice oily and unctuous.

 _Fool,_ Sesshoumaru sneered inwardly. _Does he think I cannot smell his deceit?_

“Your name?”

“I am known as Naraku,” the hanyou replied.

“And how would you have me use a human arm to take Tessaiga? The arm would have to be bound to me and my will – though the thought of bearing a filthy human's arm is disgusting in the extreme.”

Pulling his own arm from under the pelt he was hidden under, Naraku held up a pale arm, cut off in the same place his had been and Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes on it. It had a shard of that cursed jewel in it. He had felt it as the hanyou had kept it hidden, but hadn't really cared – after all, he had more than enough power of his own. He had no need to covet such a thing – though he definitely coveted its mistress, that was a different matter altogether.

“As upsetting as being forced to use a human arm would be, I believe the results would be worth the disgust. It will allow you to take the sword and kill your brother, which is what you want.” He paused, and took out another object from under the baboon skin and held it out, then said, “As for the monk that now travels with Inuyasha, I think that this will prove most useful in sidelining him.”

Sesshoumaru reached out and took the object thoughtfully, noting that it was a hive of some sort of insect, then tucked it into his sleeve before looking back up at Naraku, who was watching him with malicious amusement.

_His words are false – it is apparent that once I have done his bidding, he will attack to take back the shard that is in the arm, and this hive. But I do not care for his plans... for he cannot harm one such as I. No... though he is deceitful and false, there is no reason I cannot use him as he means to use me._

“Very well. I get the arm you have for me and this hive, and you get Inuyasha's corpse.”

With an evil smile, Naraku handed over the arm as well, then stepped back, knowing better than to get too close. He watched as the daiyoukai hefted the arm, no expression on his face, and examined it carefully.

“It is sufficient – barely. As it is from a weak human, however, that is not unexpected. I am sure we will have no reason to speak again, as I am well aware you will be watching to see Inuyasha's demise.” With that, he turned and continued on his way, completely dismissing the spider behind him as his thoughts turned to gaining Tessaiga – and seeing Kagome again, up close and personal.

He wondered what she would do upon seeing him.

~oOo~

Kagome was, for the first time in a while, quite content.

Miroku, who, it turned out, was quite the shyster, had gained them lodgings and dinner in the nicest mansion in the area, and all for the price of a false exorcism.

Now, she knew he was lying about the 'ominous black cloud' the moment he spoke of it, but after a week straight of sleeping outdoors with only her ninja food to eat, she was willing to let the whole thing go. After all, though there wasn't any evil around the mansion _now_ , that _could_ change, and with ofuda already placed, the mansion would be saved from such a fate. It was kind of like... insurance. And insurance against such things was a perfectly acceptable reason to be paid – in food and lodging.

Inuyasha, though, seemed to have a problem with it, and Kagome almost found it amusing that the one who was always complaining about helping people all the time found it dishonorable to _fake_ helping them. If you were gonna do it, you'd better actually _do_ it, not fake it.

At any rate, her amusement _and_ her contentment was short-lived when what seemed like an earthquake shook the mansion, hard enough to make the floors shift and the entire thing settle farther into the earth.

It didn't take more than an instant for her to realize it wasn't an earthquake, though, but an extremely large opponent heading their way – with a shard of the Shikon no Tama, and within seconds, she and her companions were heading outside at a run.

The moment Kagome's eyes latched on to who was riding on the shoulder of the huge oni, her mind flashed back to the first time she'd seen the sexy – he really was, though evil – half brother of Inuyasha. The reaction to him had her stumbling... and her problem wasn't helped by his heated stare.

He held her gaze for several seconds, and then turned away, his normal arrogant expression when looking at his brother falling over his face.

“So, Inuyasha – you still have the Tessaiga. It is a pity for the fang of our father that you, a weak half-demon, will never be able to wield its full strength.” He stood on the shoulder of the oni, and then leapt lightly to the ground, fully aware of Kagome's eyes plastered to him the entire time.

She would get an eyeful of him this night, he would make sure of it. By the time this was over, she would see exactly why he was the much better choice – Inuyasha could not hold a candle to him, missing an arm or not. And, if he played it right, he would also leave with the sword of his father, as well.

A most profitable night, to be sure.

Of course, as with everything to do with Inuyasha lately, things did not go quite as planned...

And a great deal of that had to do with Kagome herself.

He was completely stunned when, just as he was about to finish his wretched sibling's life, an arrow came winging out of nowhere, glowing a blinding pink color, and hit the Tessaiga. Not expecting what came next, he merely frowned at her.

But when the sword's transformation was reversed... once more, she had his entire attention. _Her arrow thwarted Chichi-ue's fang... her energy overpowered his! How is that possible? I knew she was power incarnate, but this... I did not expect._

It angered him. Because if she could overwhelm his sire's great power, then she could be a threat to him, as well.

He turned to his brother, then. “Inuyasha, stop her. Be proud of your demon blood and do not accept the help of a human – even in death,” he said sternly, eyes narrowed. He wanted her out of this fight, even if it meant playing along with her supposed 'humanity'.

“Kagome, go. Let me handle him – you go take care of Miroku. He's in bad shape, and the remedies from your time can save him.”

Kagome glanced between the two with agonized eyes, but then nodded and turned to go. She paused for a moment, not looking back, and said, “Be careful, Inuyasha. Your brother's nothing more than a bloodthirsty, cold-hearted, arrogant jerk, and I don't want to see you get hurt.” With those provocative words, she ran off, leaving Sesshoumaru behind her with reddened eyes and gritted teeth at her continued defiance.

He knew she wanted him. He'd scented her desire and knew she dreamed of him, knew he was in her mind. But she fought it, instead throwing her support behind his worthless mongrel brother.

Always, it was Inuyasha! Denying him his birthright, denying him his sire's respect, denying him the female he wanted.

His temper rose, and he took it out on the hanyou he hated more than anything in that moment.

The ensuing battle was going quite well for him, and he was enjoying teaching the half-breed his place – until, once again, an arrow came winging at him, and this time, shattered his armor.

He turned to look at her, his eyes glittering angrily. But she ignored the look, and shot at him again; this time, however, he was ready. He caught the arrow before it could hit him, and demonstrating his own power, dissolved it before her reiki could fully ignite, shocking her.

_She is too determined. I must get her out of this fight, now, before she gets truly harmed. Since the Tessaiga is only partially transformed, I can hit her with that. It will simply knock her out._

“If you will not stay out of the way on your own, then I will have to make you,” he gritted. With that, he swung, using only a fraction of the sword's power, and watched as she didn't even attempt to run, simply bracing for the blow.

Of course, Inuyasha wasn't about to allow her to be hit, thinking the blow would kill her, and shielded her with his own body. But it was enough, and she was now unconscious – which was what he had wanted. He was even further pleased when the hanyou exhorted the monk to remove her from the area, though he watched through narrowed eyes to make sure the lecher kept his hands in respectable places.

But it seemed that when Kagome was involved, his little brother became most determined, and the fight quickly ended with him managing to take the Tessaiga back – even though desperately wounded. With the human arm partially ripped off, and unable to now get to the sword which was still responding to an unconscious Inuyasha's – unneeded, had he but known it - determination to protect the girl, he decided to leave, and come back another time.

Glancing once more back at a now awake Kagome, he met her resentful eyes with his own hot ones...

And then turned and left, still not having gained what he desired.

But he was in no way ready to give up. No... she, _and_ the sword, would one day be his.

He was willing to do just about anything to have them both – but her most of all.

~oOo~

The one thing Sesshoumaru had not counted on as a result of his attack was that Inuyasha would attempt to send her home through the well – permanently. When he found out, he was furious, but did not know what he could do since he could not get through the well.

If she did not manage to return, he really _would_ kill the whelp, Tessaiga notwithstanding.

Helpless, really, to do anything about Kagome's loss, which did not sit well, he let his vengeful thoughts turn back to Naraku, instead.

That one would pay for attempting what he had.

As if a shard of that weak jewel would allow the wretched hanyou to control he, Sesshoumaru. Much as he'd always disdained Inuyasha as a half-breed, at least he had come by his blood honestly – Naraku couldn't even claim that. It didn't take more than the hanyou's scent to tell the daiyoukai how he had become what he was. Nothing more than many weak, pathetic youkai combined with a human shell. At least Inuyasha's demon blood was of the highest and most powerful, and even his human blood was royal, unlike Naraku, whose human body was nothing more than the pathetic, burned out flesh of a bandit with dishonorable blood.

“Disgusting. That a weak being such as Naraku thought to control me. For his presumption, he will pay.” Sesshoumaru absently stared at his hand, flexing it as the knuckles popped ominously. “If he had wanted Inuyasha dead so badly, he should have sought it by his own hand. It was his own foolishness that involved me – and it will be his last mistake.”

Jaken was extremely nervous. He knew his master was angry on several fronts, and had been going over everything he could think of to get his Lord to calm down. He _had_ found something that might help...

“Master... this humble Jaken might know of a way to get the girl back,” he quavered, cringing in fear of a kick. After there was silence for a moment, he dared to peek out at Sesshoumaru. His master's eyes were on him, intent.

“Explain. If I like what I hear, I will not kill you.”

Jaken nodded hastily. “When the half-breed sent her back, he took her shards from her, because she could not get through the well without them. The young kit that now travels with them... he is angry at Inuyasha for pushing her away and planting that tree in the well to keep her from coming back. I think that I can get him to take the shard that Inuyasha took from her and go to the well – he is small enough to get in even with the tree. It might be enough to call her back through.”

Sesshoumaru stared at him for several seconds with no expression on his face, and then turned away to look at the sky. Jaken breathed a sigh of relief to find himself still breathing.

“Do it. But do not fail. Your life rides on her return.”

Scrambling away, Jaken couldn't help but bemoan what his life had become. Always with the death threats! And after all his faithful service, too.

Nonetheless, he set out to follow his plan... because if he tried to get away, instead, Sesshoumaru would track him down and kill him. There was no escape from the daiyoukai, so all he could hope for was to succeed in this scheme, so he could keep breathing for a few more days.

Maybe someday, if his master got the Tessaiga and the girl, he would not need his servant anymore and he could return to his home in the swamps of the Western Lands.

He could only wish such a fate would befall him.

~oOo~

It had been several weeks since Kagome's successful – to Jaken's extreme relief – return, and much had happened in that time. Once again, Sesshoumaru had attempted to take the sword, only this time, Inuyasha had unlocked the potential of Tessaiga, unleashing the wind scar against his older brother.

Despite that, Tenseiga had reacted, saving the daiyoukai from certain death, stealing him away to safety.

No one had heard anything of him for some time after that, and Kagome had begun to actually worry, though she would never admit such a thing aloud. But she had so much going on in her own life that she hadn't had to be concerned that anyone would figure out her fear for what was essentially one of their enemies.

They had gained two new companions – ones with a serious need for revenge against Naraku. Sango, and her companion, the firecat Kirara.

Naraku had tricked the proud taijiya clan, then stolen her little brother's mind and forced him to kill all of his family. Sango was the only survivor of the attacks – both the one on her family, and the one on her village, which had razed it to the ground and killed everyone within it.

Then the bastard had convinced the grief-stricken young woman that Inuyasha was responsible, and giving her a shard to help her fight through her very serious injuries, had set her loose on the hanyou and his group.

Thankfully, that hadn't worked out, and once the young woman realized the truth of the matter, she had turned her mind to gaining vengeance from the _right_ person.

The wretched spider had used a shard of the jewel to resurrect the taijiya's tormented brother once Sango had realized the truth of who her enemy was, and used him to taunt her constantly, even getting her to steal the Tessaiga trying to save him. The plan had failed, and Kagome herself, angered beyond anything she could ever remember had saved them all from Naraku's trap with an explosion of power that had _almost_ killed the traitorous hanyou – and _had_ completely destroyed his body as well as blowing a nice big hole in his stolen castle.

Even Inuyasha, who was always telling her she was useless, had praised her then. She'd been rightfully stunned when he had, too, having expected him to berate her for not actually managing to kill the kumo.

And then... Kikyou stealing the jewel shards she had and giving them to Naraku.

That had given the hanyou a burst of power he really hadn't needed, and now he had created very powerful incarnations of himself – Kagura, the wind witch, Kanna, the void, and then... Goshinki – who had broken the Tessaiga, and let loose Inuyasha's inner demon.

That had been probably the most frightening thing to Kagome. To see the bloodthirsty glee in his crimson eyes, and to know that the demon within craved nothing more than the blood of everything around him.

The truth of what he was had been thrust into the forefront of her mind, then, and she wondered – why, when he went full demon, did he lose his mind, and yet, Sesshoumaru did not?

It was an answer that no one had, although if anyone knew, it would be Sesshoumaru – though asking him probably wouldn't do any good.

When they finally saw the daiyoukai again, Kagome was ashamed of the fact that a certain tension she hadn't even noticed inside herself eased up, allowing her to breathe a little bit easier. Her eyes had been glued to him from the moment he'd appeared again before them all, despite the danger he represented.

But this Sesshoumaru was just a little different – and this time, he wasn't after the Tessaiga. No... he had come to claim the sword that Kaijinbo had forged – one with an evil aura that sent Kagome's flesh crawling. She watched, eyes widening in horror as he drew the sword out of the ground, afraid that it's evil would affect his mind.

She should have known that one as proud as him would never submit his will to _anyone._

They had managed to get out of that confrontation intact - at least, everyone else had. But Kagome...

Kagome hadn't. Because every time they encountered the dangerous daiyoukai, she left another little piece of herself with him.

She could only be thankful that contact with him was sporadic, because if he was constantly around, she knew she wouldn't have been able to deny him for very long at all.

Much as she hated to admit it, he drew her in ways she had no experience with, and so couldn't fight. Wicked or not, she wanted him, she was drawn to him, and she would be unable to fight it for too much longer.

Eventually, he would have her...

And she knew it.

 


	4. The Awakening

“ _No! I don't want you! I don't want to go with you! I won't!”_

“ _You lie – to yourself and to me. But I can wait, little woman - you will only last so long, and then your need will overwhelm you. When that time arrives, I will come – and then it will all be over for you, make no mistake. You will be mine, willingly – you merely delay the inevitable with your caviling.”_

With a gasp, Kagome sat up in her sleeping bag, frantic eyes searching the camp first for those she might have disturbed with her once more restless sleep, and then the surrounding forest for a glimpse of the male she _knew_ was close by.

She could feel him.

She could _always_ feel him.

 _Leave me alone!_ she wanted to scream – but she couldn't, because not only would those words not leave her mouth, but she would then have to answer far too many pointed questions from Inuyasha - and Miroku, as well. Even Sango would begin to wonder, and Kagome couldn't handle the thought of any of her companions finding out about her little problem.

 _Little problem? No... more like huge, insurmountable problem, _ she whimpered, tears clouding her vision. Tears of frustration and of desire. _Why does life have to be so complicated! I wish I could just go home..._

She'd really considered doing just that, more than once, actually. But the problem was, even if she _could_ live with the guilt she'd feel for abandoning her companions and her duty, she had the feeling that she'd find Sesshoumaru looming over her the moment she climbed out of the well on her side of it.

Inuyasha had been the one to tell her that as a full inuyoukai, his brother was pretty much immortal. Oh, he could be killed, but otherwise, age and illness could not lay hands on him. She'd despaired, then, of ever getting away from him and she'd been trying very hard since that day to keep her fear and depression away from her friends.

But the truth of the matter was that when he'd given her that little bit of information she'd lost all hope, because unless someone managed to kill Sesshoumaru between now and her era, which she didn't see happening, then she had no way of escaping him.

He would, eventually, manage to break her down and take her, just as he'd told her he would – even if she escaped into the future and he was forced to wait the five hundred years. She somehow already knew without even having to think about it that he would do so, though not happily, and then he'd find a way to punish her for running across time to get away from him. Yes, he'd eventually be able to break her down, since she couldn't even run away...

And she was beginning to wonder if she'd even be able to care by the time it happened, because she was fully certain that by the time she folded, she'd no longer even desire to fight him – she'd be his willingly.

The whole situation frightened the living daylights out of her, and she couldn't even talk to anyone about it. And because of that, she was feeling more and more isolated from her family in the future and even her friends here.

 _He's probably counting on that feeling growing until I can no longer deny him, the bastard,_ she thought belligerently. She wanted so badly to able to say she hated him – and that thought hurt something inside, because she'd never wanted to hate anyone before.

She wasn't made to hate, and that was proven as even with circumstances as they were, she just couldn't bring herself to actually do it.

Miserable, her face dropped into her hands and she let out a shuddering sigh. _I'm making so much noise - I'm surprised Inuyasha isn't breathing down my neck already._ She frowned, that thought penetrating her muddled thoughts slowly, and she looked up, glancing around trying to find red fire rat in a tree. There was no sign of him; however, once she looked up, there was every sign of glowing shinidamachu circling a spot in the forest a little ways away on a small rise.

Letting out a strangled laugh that sounded more sob than anything mirthful, she crawled to her feet and headed towards the small stream a few clearings away in the opposite direction, needing the cool water to calm her overheated blood and wash away the scent of tears.

_So he left us alone again to go chase Kikyou. I shouldn't be surprised – after all, it was not that long ago that she tried to kill me and stole my shards, only to turn around and give them to Naraku, and Inuyasha didn't even seem phased. And with him just having managed to lighten Tessaiga again, we may as well have been sitting ducks this whole time. So what does it matter if we're sitting ducks again because he's gone off to see that woman?_

The situation with Kikyou and Inuyasha left Kagome nothing but confused. She didn't know how to feel about the woman she'd been in a past life, let alone with the fact that woman was now running around again, powered by a piece of her soul and the stolen souls of other women. What a confusing thing to be faced with – and that, on top of Sesshoumaru, and all the chaos he was introducing into her once straightforward and calm life!

Even with Inuyasha's choice of Kikyou over their friendship, she'd decided after a week spent at home that she needed to stay, needed to finish what she'd started, and so she'd swallowed her pride and her tears and asked Inuyasha if he'd let her stay by his side. He had seemed thankful, truthfully, for her desire to stay, and things had seemingly gone back to normal between them, despite Kikyou. But she had slowly realized that nothing would really be the same again, and he was proving that with every time he ran off to see the other woman, leaving them all undefended and in danger, all for a shade of the past.

Reaching the small stream, she knelt down at the edge and cupped some water in her hands before splashing her face with the cool liquid. It felt good, and she sighed as she sat back a little and watched idly as the water rushed by, babbling cheerfully as it washed over the mossy stones in its path.

It was bright out, the full moon being reflected in the water, but even with that, she didn't notice the shadow that fell over her, nor the face that appeared over her shoulder for several seconds, too spellbound by the night and her chaotic thoughts.

It was the warm breath that washed over her cheek that warned her that her nemesis was crouched right behind her.

“So the half-breed leaves you undefended to go philander with the undead and traitorous miko,” Sesshoumaru purred, taking in a deep pull of her intoxicating scent. He'd missed her scent's full potency for the last weeks as he'd been caught up in other matters, though he had never been too far away from her. His brother could not be trusted to see to her safety, as he proved more and more every day, and he would not leave her vulnerable to any other but himself. “Why am I not surprised?”

Kagome's breath caught in her throat at his nearness, fear and desire surging through her and heating her blood. She froze, caught between fight or flight... but really, neither was actually possible, and so she remained frozen and unable to move as the daiyoukai took advantage of that and ran his nose down her cheek, continuing to scent her.

“Go away, Sesshoumaru,” she finally managed to get out around a tight throat, a small glimmer of anger breaking a part of the spell on her at his nearness.

He tensed; she could feel it as close as he was to her. “And still you fight me, and yourself,” he whispered in her ear, his breath making her shiver and her eyesight go black for a moment as desire surged. “While your recalcitrance frustrates me, I am also impressed with your will – you are strong. Too strong for that whelp that thinks he owns you.”

“K-Kouga-kun?” she stuttered, confused for a second.

A low, vibrating growl made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, and she shivered in visceral reaction.

“Either,” he answered, dangerous anger edging his voice. “The wolf is as weak as Inuyasha – it is shameful that he claims full youkai blood. Then again, ookami are not much better than low level youkai. They are certainly nearly as brainless,” he stated with derision. “And if he chooses to be brainless enough to lay a hand on you again, he will also be limbless.” Sesshoumaru had been livid when he'd found out about his newest rival, the wolf prince Kouga and his declaration of 'love', and would have no compunction at all about killing him if he didn't back off of the female he'd already claimed as his.

That elicited a reaction in Kagome; she made a move as if to turn around to berate the inuyoukai for his attitude but instead, made unsteady by his nearness, she started to fall forward towards the water. Resigned to falling in and getting nice and cold, she was stunned to instead feel an arm like a steel band come around her waist and pull her back into a firm, warm body. She stiffened, her heart fluttering like a trapped bird at his proximity.

He smirked with triumph; he could feel her heart stuttering with desire, the only fear in her scent a fear of her own needs, and not of him. Slowly, so slowly she was breaking and soon she would come to him, unable to stay away any longer.

Tightening the pressure of his hand against her belly, he pressed it flat to her and pulled her back into him even more as he stood, pulling her up with him, careful to avoid damaging her skin on the spikes of his armor. Lowering his head slowly, he nuzzled into her neck and, unable to help himself, pressed an open-mouthed kiss to her sensitive skin, his tongue coming out to taste her tender flesh.

A low moan broke from his throat and he shuddered, his own vocalization only overpowered by her slightly louder moan of need. “You taste of sweetness and seduction all at once,” he growled, a peculiar edge of pain to his voice that captured Kagome's attention, confusing her. “That hanyou is truly a fool to prefer the scent and feel of cold, dead clay to the warmth of a living nymph,” he finished, continuing to nuzzle and kiss his way up her neck to her ear, where he nipped at the lobe. A smirk tilted his lips at her inhaling gasp.

“S-stop it,” she choked out, having to fight harder than she'd ever fought before to get those two words out. Because the truth was, her body didn't want him to stop – and neither did her heart and soul. It was only her mind that was still fighting him, and its struggles were growing weaker with every day that passed.

A wicked, wicked chuckle emanated from him at her words, once again submerging her mind into what he was doing to her. “Why should I?” he asked darkly. “You do not really want me to stop. Oh, no, little woman-child, you do not want me to stop. You want me to go further... like this,” he whispered hotly into her ear, savoring the faint cry that was torn from her as his heated breath caressed her sensitive flesh again. He accompanied his words with the movement of his hand, a slick, slow slide up her quivering belly to cup a breast.

Kagome was stunned at the feel of his hand touching such a forbidden place; her eyes widened until the whites were showing all around and her breath froze in her throat as his long fingers slid over the now painfully hard tip of it. She almost blacked out at the surge of intense need as terrible, wonderful arousal flooded through her veins, and weak tears welled up in her now tightly clenched eyes.

“N-no,” she moaned, her opposing desires clashing fiercely within her and tearing pieces of her psyche away. “ _Why?_ Why are you doing this to me?” she cried suddenly, trying to pull away as the completely opposite states of her heart and her mind began to leave her floundering, not even sure who she was and what she really wanted anymore.

Sesshoumaru reluctantly let her move away from him just a little, but unable to bear letting go quite yet, the moment she turned to face him, her beautiful little face illuminated by the moonlight that sparkled off the tears on her cheeks, he pulled her back, answering her query with passion rather than words.

White light filled Kagome's mind as Sesshoumaru took her lips with no hesitation, engaging her with every bit of his always formidable confidence. Unable to deny his demand, she let her mouth fall open as his tongue tempted her past all reason, slipping inside her mouth with a languid heat that swept every doubt from her mind and left only him behind, instead.

A full body shudder wracked Sesshoumaru's tense frame as her taste rushed over his senses, erasing any thought from his mind but the need to taste more – to taste all of her. That need turned him aggressive; within the space of a heartbeat he tilted his head and took every bit of depth he could, his tongue sliding against hers so sweetly that it pulled a deep relishing sound from the normally much more controlled daiyoukai.

Kagome was in pain. Instead of his touch easing the hunger she felt for him, it only seemed to intensify it, and if he didn't stop soon, she'd give in to him right here on the banks of this small stream with her companions less then fifty feet away. She'd never felt anything like this in her life, and she knew that she would never be the same again after this encounter.

Plump lips bruised with passion hissed as Sesshoumaru finally pulled away, needing air as badly as she did, and the daiyoukai was entirely captivated by the way she looked, ravished and needy – and all at his hands, not his bastard half-brother's.

Despite Inuyasha's seeming inability to resist the undead miko, Sesshoumaru was well aware that his idiot sibling had very deep feelings for Kagome, as well, and indeed, he'd wanted to encourage just such a thing so that when Kagome finally left to come to him, it would devastate the boy. That had been the reason he'd left her with Inuyasha in the first place.

But suddenly, the fact that the brat had feelings for her at all loomed in his mind like a specter, leaving a taste of uneasiness behind; he knew that Kagome also held feelings for Inuyasha, though they weren't ones of passion and need, still, they were the reason she was fighting him so hard. He hadn't considered that when he'd decided to leave her with the boy, and now he was not so certain that he wanted to continue to allow her to stay with him – he didn't want her to gain the strength to defy him due to growing feelings of familial love and loyalty towards Inuyasha.

On the other hand, however, he knew that if he tried to force her to come to him now, he'd lose any ground he'd gained – and he knew, just from her response, that he'd gained quite a bit, despite her desire to fight him. His fingers tightened in her raven locks in frustration at the realization that despite the danger of leaving her with the hanyou, he'd have to, or end up making her hate him, instead.

And while she would still desire him even if her emotions disdained him, simple physical desire was not all he wanted from her. No... if that were all there were, his hold on her would be tenuous at best.

In order for him to have her the way he wanted, he'd have to have all of her – heart and soul, body and mind. He needed her to fall in love with him, and kidnapping her and forcing her to stay with him would pretty much make certain that he would never gain her heart, soul, or mind, only her body.

With more reluctance than he'd ever felt before, he stepped back, letting her hair slide through his fingers slowly as he met her slumbrous gaze. “You want to know why?” he finally asked, his husky voice making her shiver visibly, to his great satisfaction. “Because I want you, Kagome. I want every bit of you, and no other will do. If I cannot have you, I will have no other – unlike a certain hanyou I could name, who cannot even decide who to give his tattered loyalty and betrayal-stained honor to.”

“His loyalty isn't tattered,” she retorted, her voice also husky, to her shame.

“No? At least I know who I am looking at, Ka-go-me,” he fired back, the barb hitting her heart with deadly accuracy, “unlike Inuyasha. The dead have no hold on me - I would never mistake you for anyone else – and we both know the hanyou already has.”

“You can't buy my loyalty with pretty words, Sesshoumaru,” she snapped, the haze finally burning away from her mind as anger and hurt feelings rose. She couldn't stand the thought that he was right – Inuyasha _had_ already mistaken her for Kikyou – and he, Sesshoumaru, knew her as Kagome, and no one else. That fact hurt. “I won't betray Inuyasha just because he's in love with Kikyou. He's my friend, though I don't expect someone like you to understand that. I'll protect him from you if it's the last thing I do, which is another thing you will never understand!”

His eyes narrowed; she could see she'd hit him with that arrow, and something inside was shocked into stillness to see a flash of hurt in those deadly eyes. She watched, stunned, as he withdrew and stepped back more, and then turned to walk away.

She would forever wish she hadn't heard the words that came ghosting back out of the darkness that had swallowed him.

“If that were true, Kagome, then you and your companions would have been dead several times over. Who do you think has kept you all safe while the half-breed was unable to even lift his sword? And who do you think protects you all while he trysts with the traitorous miko that has betrayed you to Naraku more than once?”

The words were quietly spoken as they drifted out of the silence under the trees, but she heard them as if they'd been shouted; she felt their impact all the way to her very soul.

 _Is that why we've survived all of what's happened lately? I've wondered why Naraku hasn't attacked while Inuyasha's been so helpless without being able to really use Tessaiga..._ she thought hazily.

His words had just turned her entire world upside down.

She didn't think it would ever be righted again.

~oOo~

“Where the hell have you been?” a low, growling voice crashed into her out of the darkness ahead, waking Kagome from her confusion and shock as she stumbled back into camp.

She was so dazed, however, that his first words barely skimmed the surface.

“Hm?”

It was his furious anger once he'd gotten close enough to scent her that fully woke her up – along with the rest of the camp.

“What the fuck were you doing with Sesshoumaru, bitch?” he snarled, his eyes actually flashing red for a split second.

Suddenly angry that he had the nerve to say anything to her after who he'd been with, leaving them all vulnerable to attack, Kagome turned on him and let loose in a low, vehement voice that shocked everyone speechless for its ferocity – a ferocity that was usually so alien to her personality.

“I'll tell you where I've been after you tell me where _you_ were, Inuyasha!” she snapped hotly. “How the hell you have the nerve to ask me anything when you actually left us unprotected _yet again_ to go off to see your dead girlfriend is beyond me!”

Flushing redly with anger, embarrassment and guilt, Inuyasha sputtered for several seconds when the others, who were all well awake by now and listening to the argument avidly, cut dark looks his way. It took a few moments, but then he yelled, “That bastard is our enemy, bitch – he's tried to kill us! It's almost as bad as you sneaking off to see Naraku!”

“And Kikyou's also our enemy, one who's tried to kill us, and _has_ betrayed us to Naraku – yet what were you doing? I don't want to hear another word, Inuyasha,” she snarled dangerously. “I didn't go looking for Sesshoumaru – I just went to get a cool drink from the stream and wash my face after a nightmare – _you_ actually went off looking for that woman!”

Unable to deny her words and angry because of that, Inuyasha started to open his mouth to throw some insult or another, but then faltered and fell back, staring in shock at Kagome as she actually flipped him a rude gesture. He recognized it quite well after his time spent in her era, and was totally stunned at her use of it.

“If you say one damn word, dog boy,” she said, her voice icy, “I'll 'o' word you straight into the afterlife. I'm in no mood for your double standards, you idiot. At least Sesshoumaru didn't try to kill me, steal my shards, and then turn and give them to Naraku, making him so much stronger and allowing him to kill hundreds more innocent people. If anyone here could be called a traitor, it would be _Kikyou_ ,” she spat the name she was fast coming to hate hearing, “no matter what excuse she tries to make for her actions. Plain and simple – if she hadn't done what she did, we most likely could have already finished this whole mess.”

With that, she turned her back on him and went over to her sleeping bag, crawling inside it and zipping the thing right up over her head, in no mood to deal with the hanyou and his blind worship of Kikyou. If he wanted to believe her false words and lying eyes, that was his problem, and more fool him.

The silence in the camp was palpable as the others, Sango and Miroku, Shippo and even Kirara glared at a pale and angry Inuyasha, before turning to each other and speaking, blatantly acting as though he weren't even there.

“I think we should start taking turns on watch every night when we stop, since we can't rely on a certain someone else to stay and actually keep watch. I wouldn't want to be woken out of a deep sleep by coming under attack by Naraku or anyone else,” Sango said, her voice cold.

Miroku sighed, but nodded. “Perhaps that would be a good idea,” he had to agree. It was too dangerous to sleep out in the wilds with no one on watch.

“I can help keep watch, too,” Shippo piped up. “If something were coming I could warn everyone!”

“I don't really think there's a need for any of that,” came Kagome's voice, still cold and angry, though muffled by her sleeping bag.

Everyone looked over at her sleeping bag, even the fuming Inuyasha. “Why is that, Kagome?” Sango asked, confused.

“Because Sesshoumaru has been keeping watch over us.”

“What?” she said blankly, dumbfounded. “How do you know?”

“He told me, how else would I know?”

“And you fuckin' believed him, you stupid bitch?” Inuyasha practically screamed. “Why?!”

She popped out of her bag at that and shot him the deadliest look of rage anyone had ever seen on her face, instantly shutting him up. “Because we're all still here, you blind fool! After all of this time with you basically helpless and unable to really wield Tessaiga, Naraku could have easily attacked and taken us down, and yet... we're all still safe and even relatively unscathed. Hasn't anyone actually thought about that and wondered why we've been so free of attack? And especially when you keep running off and leaving us all alone, sleeping deeply and _thinking_ we're safe!? Funny that, wouldn't you say? We certainly haven't been safe because of _your_ ass,” she finished acidly, her temper overriding her usual distaste for casual profanity.

Inuyasha was left without a leg to stand on and he knew it, her words condemning his actions with lethal efficiency. But he could not stand the thought of his brother watching Kagome in any fashion whatsoever, and with narrowing, dangerous eyes, he let her know it in no uncertain terms.

“Keh - the only reason he's doing that is 'cause he wants to get up your skirt, you baka bitch!” He flinched a little at her angry intake of breath, but continued on, too angry himself to back down or even speak with a little more caution. “Don't get used to that bastard watching anything, Kagome, because the next time I see him I'm going to kill him, and that will be the end of it!”

For some reason, Kagome actually calmed as he spoke, a sarcastic, mocking chuckle echoing loudly in the clearing as the fascinated onlookers watched, curious as to what would be said next.

“That'll be the day, Inuyasha,” she retorted acerbically. “You won't ever be able to defeat your brother, no matter how big you talk, and we all know it, so stop with the ridiculous posturing. _Grow up_.” She started to turn around and slide back into her bedding, but then paused and said over her shoulder, “I'm getting really tired of dealing with a perpetual child. As long as you are trysting with the enemy, you have no right to even question who I might or might not be speaking to. _End of discussion._ ”

With that, completely ignoring the elevated youki of her hanyou companion and his almost out-of-control temper, along with the titillated shock of their friends, Kagome curled herself back up into her sleeping bag and pointedly closed her eyes, regulating her breathing and paying no attention to anything else as she drifted off into a troubled sleep – the hurt look she'd surprised in Sesshoumaru's eyes with her earlier caustic words haunting her as dreams took over. It left her feeling guilty for what she'd said, guilty for hurting someone who seemed so invulnerable and even unemotional, and yet, clearly wasn't exactly what she'd thought he was... what his half-brother insisted he was. What _he_ portrayed himself as.

Inuyasha, deprived of his target, knowing she wouldn't respond again no matter what he said, bared his fangs in frustration and then jumped into a tree, folding his arms into his sleeves. He tried very hard to calm himself down, beginning to get a headache from all the strong emotions he'd been faced with this day. He paid not a whit of attention to those still on the ground and awake, not even deigning to listen in to their soft conversation as his own thoughts were more than enough to keep him busy and stewing in his impotent anger.

“Inuyasha's crazy,” Shippo announced huffily, glaring into the tree the hanyou had disappeared into. “Sesshoumaru isn't just playing around – he really wants Kagome, unlike a certain blockhead we all know.”

Miroku, taken aback at the kit's rather adult grasp of the situation, frowned. “What do you mean, Shippo?”

“I mean that Sesshoumaru wants Kagome, and he wants her bad enough to be protecting her. A youkai that just wants-” his little cheeks warmed up a bit at what he was about to say, “-what Inuyasha said, wouldn't bother to go so far as to be constantly watching over the female, let alone any companions she had.”

“So you are saying that his interest in her is not casual?” the monk asked, brow furrowed as he considered what was being said.

It was Sango's voice that answered his query, instead.

“Definitely not. If he's truly been watching over all of us, then he considers her of the utmost importance – it certainly isn't for our sakes that he's been doing so,” Sango stated quietly, though with authority. “I think that's why Inuyasha's so angry about his brother 'sniffing around', as he put it once. He knows that his brother's serious, and we all know that, despite his idiocy over that impure miko, he considers Kagome his. It's an inu trait. He feels threatened by his brother's interest in Kagome, and that's why he's so aggressive whenever Sesshoumaru approaches us.”

It was apparent that Miroku hadn't known any of that, and was now reevaluating much of their confrontations with the daiyoukai in the light of his new insight into Sesshoumaru's actions. His frown deepened as things that had left him wondering before suddenly began fitting into place.

“It's not really the sword that he's even after anymore, is it?” he asked slowly as the realization dawned. “I had wondered why he seemed so adamant on confronting Inuyasha even after having his own sword forged. He has that one and it is quite potent, so why would he need Tessaiga? He's simply using it as an excuse to confront Kagome – to make sure she cannot forget his presence,” he finished, his voice heavy with new understanding. “He's imprinting himself indelibly into her psyche.”

“Aa,” Sango replied as Shippo nodded, and even Kirara joined in, mewing her agreement.

As a full youkai and an adult, she was actually the one that understood the best just what was going on. Shippo, while a full blood, was still young, and some things did go over his head. Not so with her. She had smelled Sesshoumaru's interest and his desire for Kagome from the first time she'd encountered him. She mewed at Shippo, who then passed her message on.

“Kirara says that Sesshoumaru has the scent of a male that is looking for a mate,” he said, his blush deepening. “And that she's surprised that Inuyasha didn't notice-” he blinked in surprise of his own, “-but Sesshoumaru has now marked Kagome in a permanent manner with his scent, probably tonight when he met her at the stream like she said he did. It's a betrothal mark, so that all other youkai will know to stay away.”

Sango's eyes widened considerably at that, and her gaze went from Shippo to her longtime feline companion in dismay. “He's gone so far as to mark her in such a way?” she asked, stunned and wanting to be sure she wasn't hearing wrong. She sighed as Kirara mewed at her, nodding her head in affirmation. “Oh, dear gods,” she said under her breath. “When Inuyasha finally gets a good whiff of that mark and realizes what it means, he's going to go insane. As if he weren't already unstable enough.”

Everyone had to agree with that sentiment, and they all drifted off into their own troubled thoughts, slowly allowing sleep to once more claim them as the events of the evening finally wore them all out and the silence lulled them back into their dreams.

Tomorrow was soon enough to deal with whatever hell was next to come.

 

 

 


	5. A Slow Simmer

Kagome was really getting tired of waking up in the same manner – shocked awake by dreams of Sesshoumaru. It was no different this time as she bolted upright, eyes flying open in stunned dismay and with his wild male scent still tainting her memory of the dream that she'd just awakened from with a gasped, “No!” echoing around the camp.

It took her several seconds to realize where she was and then she slumped, lowering her head in open misery into her hands as she tried to fight back tears. This dream, this time, had been worse than all the others – after he'd touched her and kissed her last night, waking her innocent body to the fierce claws that passion was made of, she'd dreamed of that same passion – and more.

She could still see him as he'd been in that dream, his beautiful body bared before her as he pressed himself to her, whispering of his desire for her, his need of her and _only_ her. It was such a seductive concept that he wanted only her that she almost instinctively knew that she would give in to him, and sooner rather than later.

But she didn't want to give in... did she?

“No,” she moaned in denial of what her heart, body, and soul was telling her. She tried so hard to deny herself, to deny what she was beginning to want so badly she could taste it, but she couldn't. Because she _did_ want the daiyoukai – with an almost single-minded fixation that was coming to resemble his obsession with her.

_Oh, gods... what am I going to do?_ she wondered in barely controlled panic.

A soft voice coming from almost directly in front of her startled her out of her downward-spiraling thoughts as effectively as ice water would a sleeping person.

“Kagome-chan, are you okay?” Sango asked, eyeing her friend with concern. After the events and revelations of the previous night she was pretty certain she knew exactly where the young woman's angst was coming from. She hadn't decided how to tell her that the daiyoukai had marked her, because she was certain that the girl would lose it when she found out.

Kagome sucked in a cleansing breath and forcibly shut her mind down, shoving her nightmarish thoughts to the back of it. After a moment of silence, she lifted her head to look at her friend. “Aa. I'll be okay,” she said softly, her voice not much above a whisper. “Just... bad dreams.” She couldn't stop the little voice inside that called her a liar and highlighted her wanting dreams, though – could she honestly call them bad when they left her trembling with desire? Not honestly. She merely _wished_ she could say they were bad and be telling the truth.

Even as Sango looked at her doubtfully Kagome pulled herself to her feet and grabbed her bag, then started off for the river, drawn back to the same place she'd met Sesshoumaru last night. As she moved slowly into the small clearing along its banks that had seen their impromptu tryst the night before, Kagome's eyes were drawn to her shoe prints in the dirt. Funny enough, despite the daiyoukai's forceful presence, there was no physical sign he'd ever been there.

Stumbling back to the same spot, she knelt and stared into the water almost as if expecting to see him again, as she had last night. But he wasn't there, and something inside felt raw and empty at that – something she refused to acknowledge. Shaking her head fiercely, denying her need of his touch to herself again as if thinking it often enough would make it true, Kagome drew her pack to her and dug through it, pulling out her little plastic pouch that she kept her toothpaste and toothbrush in and began her morning, refusing to think any further about the one that her soul was beginning to cry out for.

_I don't want him, I don't need him!_

Somehow the now familiar litany didn't bring her any comfort – because her heart was still naming her a liar.

~oOo~

_He isn't strong enough to protect her as he is, his defeat of Ryukotsussei notwithstanding,_ Sesshoumaru thought from his spot far above his brother's group as they walked along a dusty road.

_Too many times they barely scrape by, making it out of confrontations more by luck than anything – and luck is too fickle for my tastes. Like that fight with Naraku's human alias, Muso. I will not leave her to be killed because he is too weak._

For days now he'd felt Naraku's influence dancing on the winds and knew that he was planning something new, so he had refused to leave the little group to his brother's oversight. The boy was so busy thinking of his dead miko that he hadn't even caught on to the betrothal mark he'd scented Kagome with when he'd touched her on the banks of that river a few weeks ago.

A brisk breeze flashed past him, sweeping the white silk strands he called hair around him and bringing with it a faint scent of Naraku's miasma. Sesshoumaru wrinkled his nose just slightly in disgust. _He taints even what he does not touch. But he cannot taint Kagome,_ he thought, a tiny smirk curling his lip with haughty condescension. _Every time he has tried he has failed._

He had not missed what had transpired with Naraku's feint using the dark priestess and the tainted shards of the jewel to try to control her mind. He'd failed at that, as well. Sesshoumaru had been very close to intervening when Inuyasha was busy playing with Tsubaki's pet youkai, leaving Kagome open to attack – but he'd held back when he'd watched her send the dark miko's curse right back at her, overpowering her evil spell with her pure spirit magic just as she'd overwhelmed his father's energy in the transformed Tessaiga. Yet despite all Naraku could throw at her, her purity remained intact and unblemished.

Still, the purity that she carried that so disturbed Naraku and left him with a need to attempt to poison it did nothing to truly protect her from anyone else. And this was Sesshoumaru's problem – what could he do to make sure she would be safe?

True, he followed behind the group of spider hunters and watched over her as best he could from a distance. But what if he did not arrive in time during some skirmish or had other business that took him from his vigilance of her? If he lost her to his brother's negligence, Inuyasha would pay with his life - painfully. He, Sesshoumaru, would make sure of it.

_So what else can I do to make sure the whelp has the power to protect what I have claimed until I can take her away from him and do it myself - openly?_

Unable to decide on an answer so easily, his mind moved into other channels and he considered Naraku for a time. _Weak. He is a hanyou, and not even an honest one. He is below even Inuyasha,_ he thought, his lip curling just slightly in distaste. _He hides himself away and sends even weaker incarnations and puppets to fight for him._ That thought brought to mind his last run-in with one of those incarnations.

Kagura.

_Hmph. She tried to bribe me to do what she could not. As if I have any need to team up with a mere cast-off of a created hanyou – or any need for the false power of a black and spoiled jewel._

Of course, despite his disinterest in the jewel itself, thoughts of it brought him right back to his true interest – it's mistress. But this time, the memory of Kagura's visit had brought an idea to mind... a way to make sure that Inuyasha would be able to better protect Kagome.

Taking one last look at the figures of his half-brother's group of companions and the one who belonged to him though she still fought it, he turned away from them and set a different course.

_Hn,_ he thought once more with cynical amusement,  _at least you were useful for something, Kagura. Too bad it will most likely never happen again._

With that, he cast the wind witch from his mind and disappeared into the horizon.

~oOo~

Sesshoumaru was livid.

Again.

It seemed to be an almost permanent state lately. And as always, it was due to Inuyasha. Usually it was the whelp's mere existence that had him angry, but now it was that fact, coupled with his constant failures in protecting what belonged to he, Sesshoumaru, that had caused it.

Once again Kagome had fallen into danger, and the fool had been powerless to protect her. But this time... oh, this time his anger was not confined to his half-sibling alone. Oh, no... this time, his father's old enemies the panther youkai were at fault, as well. Apparently, Touran had decided it was time for a rematch. And for some reason, they were attempting to lure Inuyasha to their hiding place, too – and because of that, they'd taken Kagome as the bait.

But wouldn't Touran be getting a surprise – because she was going to get two for the price of one, since there was no way he was leaving Kagome to their machinations or Inuyasha's inept rescue attempts. And once she was once again safe, he would have to speed up his plan to make sure Inuyasha was capable of taking better care of her – it was ridiculous that almost any weak youkai could come in and take her right out from under his even weaker nose.

_Utterly shameful, that Chichi-ue's blood has been brought so low. And now, in order to protect what is mine, I am forced to give the hanyou aid I would never have given were he not so frail._

The thought of having to actually _help_ his fool of a half-brother in any way made him burn with anger – but it was not enough to make him reconsider his desire for the female that was pure power in a seemingly human shell – and yet did not seem to know how to access her own nature.

That fact actually confused him – had she never been trained at all? Were the people in her homeland such fools as to leave someone so dangerously powerful untrained and untutored, able only to access her true power when her emotions became involved? It went without saying that Inuyasha was just as much a fool as those of her homeland apparently were; having had such a powerful female literally dropped into his lap, he not only ignored her much of the time in favor of the undead miko, who was merely siphoning the power she was using from Kagome, but also refused to allow her any time to be trained!

And then he had the nerve to compare her to the false miko? The only thing that bitch had on Kagome was training, she certainly didn't have more power. She had none of her own, in fact – every bit of what she used was taken from the portion of Kagome's soul she had stolen. That thought sent an actual shiver down his spine – if the girl's soul contained so much power that even a small part of it was able to allow a person as much strength as Kikyou was able to call from it, how much more powerful her soul in its entirety had to be! And since he, Sesshoumaru, craved power in everything, it was then truly no surprise that he had been instantly attracted to her – whether she looked human or not.

Looks were quite frequently deceiving, after all.

This would all be so much easier if Kagome had fallen into his hands, first, rather than the whelp's. Then he wouldn't be constantly rushing off to save her from yet another one of Inuyasha's screw-ups – and wouldn't be forced to _help_ his father's bastard on top of it.

_Chichi-ue..._ his brow furrowed as his father once more crept into his thoughts. Not that he was ever far from them, thanks to the legacy he'd left his heir – the Western Lands, a half-breed stain on the family, bad memories, and little else.  _Tenseiga... not a sword that is truly useful for one such as I... and so I was left to commission the forging of a sword of my own from a lesser swordsmith. Toukijin has strength, yes... but it is merely an oni's fang. How much more I could have done with the fang of a daiyoukai of my father's strength._

He growled, his eyes flashing crimson, before he closed himself off from those useless thoughts ruthlessly. Remembering his father and his father's faithlessness to him, his heir and only legitimate son, only brought about frustrated anger – anger that had no place to go and so was just as useless as thoughts of his sire were.

Forcibly turning his attention to the problem at hand Sesshoumaru scented the air again, searching for the stench of the neko youkai or Kagome's divine scent of pure power. Her scent was like the clear, high smell of the aftermath of a lightening strike, laden with nature's own furious strength, and was something he, Sesshoumaru would never, ever forget. He would remember her scent a thousand years from now even if he hadn't seen or scented her in just that long, and no matter how many other scents overlay it, he would still know it the moment the merest hint of it hit his sensitive nose.

It was no different in this moment, the stench of the panthers almost made bearable by her scent. And then his nose wrinkled and he snarled, his eyes reddening – because he could also scent someone else following their backtrail – the ookami. The mangy wolf was as oblivious as Inuyasha, seemingly not noticing his betrothal scent mark on the girl anymore than the foolish hanyou had. Either that, or both were most excellent at ignoring what they didn't want to pay attention to.

But with Inuyasha, at least, he knew that wasn't the case – if the boy _had_ noticed that scent mark, he would have paid every attention - and gone off the deep end. And that hadn't happened... yet. Of course, he had been awfully busy lately trying to strengthen Tessaiga. _Hmph – as if it is Tessaiga that needs to be strengthened,_ he sniffed disdainfully. _Trying to take the easy way out. Fool. For if one strengthens ones sword too much without also strengthening oneself, as well, then the sword will become stronger than its wielder leaving it unable to be wielded. Just like before, when he could barely lift it, and I was left to defend the wretched whelp and his other companions. Not that I did it for his sake..._

It infuriated him, the fact that two such weaklings as Inuyasha and the ookami had the _audacity_ to covet that which only _he_ was powerful enough to have. Inuyasha, trying to scrabble out of the dirt that all humans spent their life in, and the ookami – one so weak he had to depend on shards of that jewel for any sort of strength, and even then was still too weak to defeat Kagura, a false youkai formed from an even falser hanyou! That either of them thought they had the right to even sniff her _scent_ was enough to redden his eyes, and as he flew through the air following that same scent he cracked his knuckles, a green glow gathering around his claws as the need to gut the hanyou and the filthy ookami and leave them splayed open in warning to any that thought to take what he, Sesshoumaru, claimed, surged through him.

His eyes searched the ground far below as he flew, the gathering darkness not hindering him at all as he took note of the fortress at the head of the good-sized town the trail was leading him straight to. He dropped out of the sky to land gently on his feet as he studied it with all his senses. _So... the mutt has already arrived, has he? And the fool ookami, as well. I'm surprised either of those weak bakayarou have managed to make it this far._

_So be it. We will see what we will see, then, Inuyasha, won't we?_

Taking to the air again even as Jaken finally woke up and stuck his head out of mokomoko's fur, Sesshoumaru flew over most of the empty town, not bothering with what his senses were telling him was nothing more than a trap. Suddenly, however, he could hear the half-breed's furious yelling and smell a most foul odor – and an even fouler one... Karan.

Landing lightly in front of a small section of houses that lay directly in his path, he drew Toukijin and simply blew them and Karan's foul-smelling black smoke out of his way, stunning those in the small square that had apparently been surrounded and fighting for their lives. _Weakness,_ he snarled inwardly before looking up at the panther-wench standing atop the roof of one of the houses.

“What are you doing, Karan?” he asked coldly as he walked through the billowing smoke of his blast to stand before them in all his pristine glory. He almost sneered at seeing Inuyasha there – it angered him suddenly even more that he would dare to think he could come here and be a part of this battle with the panthers. After all, since he had lost his heart to that puerile mortal miko and then been pinned, he'd left it to _him_ to deal with the filthy neko the last time they'd decided to try to take the West and he'd sent them running then by himself – he could do it this time, too, as well as rescue Kagome, all perfectly well without Inuyasha's help. Remembered anger surged through him with his memories of that time and his temper came close to exploding. “I am the one you have business with,” he told her icily, not wishing to even acknowledge the half-breed at all.

“So the big brother appears,” Karan smirked scornfully. “Nothing could be better than both of you. Oi, sons of the Inu no Taisho, we'll be waiting at the castle for you!” With that she turned and leapt away with the rest of the neko, disappearing towards the fortress at the head of the town like the coward she was, to Sesshoumaru's distaste.

“Oi, Sesshoumaru, why the hell are you here?” Inuyasha challenged arrogantly, still holding Tessaiga at the ready – as if he could threaten his older sibling – Tessaiga or not.

“That is my question to you,” he said, his face and voice blank – though his eyes gave him away. He was raging inside. “Get out of here, Inuyasha.”

“W-what?” Inuyasha stuttered, surprised at his brother's sharp tone – what was with him?

“I will not have you getting involved in this war!” Sesshoumaru snapped, his temper heating even further at the wretched whelp's clueless interference and his seeming inability to protect anything but his own hide.

“Oi, I don't need your permission, Sesshoumaru! Kagome's been kidnapped by those cats!” Inuyasha snarled back, uninterested in the signs of his brother's deteriorating hold on his temper and not realizing that most of that temper was due to the very fact that those cats had taken Kagome – and that he had not managed to stop them.

“Fool!” he growled, drawing his arm back and letting out a blast of energy from Toukijin, watching stonily as his unruly sibling was thrown back into one of the houses and halfway through it. He had to clench his jaw to keep from saying anything else to the boy. He did not want to hand him any power of him, and allowing the brat to shake his control of his temper was doing just that.

“W-why you..!” Inuyasha struggled to right himself under his brother's deadly glare. “What do you think you're doing?!” he yelled as Sesshoumaru turned to walk away.

Sesshoumaru snapped his head around just enough to glare at his brother out of red-hazed golden eyes, the snarl curling his lip barely held back from being a full-blown sound of rage. “Silence, Inuyasha!”

“Why you-” he started again, only to be cut off.

“Just remember this,” Sesshoumaru said coldly, turning his head away, “You lost your heart to a mortal and ended up under a seal. You have no right to be part of this battle now.” He paused, tilting his head just enough to turn a deadly eye on him once more. “For _any_ reason.”

Inuyasha knew immediately what he was saying and his eyes narrowed as his own temper heated in reaction. But his brother simply walked away, stepping right on top of Jaken, who had skittered forward to follow his master, trying to get him to accept help from the hanyou, weaker or not.

_As if I have a need for that hanyou,_ he sneered inwardly as he headed for where he could scent Touran's cold scent coming from.  _I will destroy this den of filthy neko and keep them from harming Kagome myself._

He walked into another open square, his ears being assaulted by obnoxious meowing sounds, and stared icily at his nemesis. Touran had her usual haughty smirk on her face as she spotted him, and he narrowed his eyes slightly at her.

“You beckoned me, and you won't let me see your so-called 'Master'?” he asked mockingly, knowing his tone would annoy the panther female whether she showed it or not.

“Well, we're just not ready for that part yet,” she responded, still smirking, though he could see a spark of anger in her eyes. “So, will my company do?” she asked archly, her aura beginning to swirl with her ice-based power.

Before he could reply, Jaken once more interfered, attempting to use the staff to burn Touran for her disrespect of his Lord. Sesshoumaru did not intervene until the last moment as shards of ice headed for his little servant, and then in one elegant move he unsheathed Toukijin and destroyed the panther female's ice shards with no effort at all.

“You sure have a dangerous weapon there,” she laughed, forming an odd two-ended staff with sharpened ends from her own icy nature and leaping towards him.

He countered her easily, bringing Toukijin up to catch her attack on its blade as she attempted to overpower him. It was a laughable effort – she was no match for his power in any way and he almost felt insulted that she seemed to think that she was. After all, he was _dai_ youkai, and she was... merely a youkai.

“Brings back memories of when we last fought, doesn't it?” she asked, trying to appear unmoved at the effort it was taking her to hold her place against him. “It ended up in a draw then. But not this time.”

“A draw, you say?” Sesshoumaru asked, his eyes flashing dangerously in the light of their weapon's differing powers snapping and sparking like lightening around them. “You just retreated, your losses too heavy to continue the battle.”

“So many of your men also died,” she countered, an edge now in her voice that told him he was getting to her just as he'd known he would.

“There is no need for this one to have an army around him to defeat you, Touran; those losses were their own, since they came to fight you on behalf of Chichi-ue, not this Sesshoumaru,” he rebutted coldly.

Tired of holding off a creature that was barely holding on against his one arm with both of hers, Sesshoumaru flung her away from him without bothering to answer her, a scintillating blast of power from Toukijin tossing her across the square. She managed at the last minute to evade the worst of it.

“Last time I wasn't that determined,” she tossed out angrily as she floated back to the ground, the natural grace of the youkai allowing her to do it softly. “This time we have *oyakata-sama.”

A chorus of meows erupted behind him and he spun even more gracefully than Touran was capable of and unleashed a wave of power at them with scarce-hidden irritation.  _She insults this one with such a pathetic ploy to attack from behind. Just like a cat, to attempt to sneak._ When the blast faded, the square was almost totally destroyed and the felines that had thought to attack him were gone.

“It's different now,” came Touran's voice through the dust cloud as she used it to effect a temporary escape.

_Back then..._ he let himself remember what she was speaking of, his father's allies coming to swear to assist him and failing as she and her felines made war on his lands. But the  one being he had expected to stand with him, regardless of his tainted blood, was Inuyasha as a son of their father. Instead... Inuyasha had been sealed – because he was a fool.

“Jaken,” he turned to look for his retainer, only to find him missing. Without further ado, he continued on in his search for Touran – and Kagome.

~oOo~

Kagome knelt at the side of Sango and Miroku and checked them once more, hoping that they would awaken soon. She'd never been so glad to see anyone before in her life, even if they were unconscious, because it meant Inuyasha wasn't far behind.

When she'd been taken by those panthers and then found herself tossed inside a prison cell with a bunch of the dispossessed townspeople, she'd felt a great deal of apprehension. It was a right terrible coil she'd found herself in this time and she'd been unable to even do anything to help herself, being taken by surprise from behind by a sleeping spell.

But when she'd seen Sango and Miroku being dragged in unconscious, after dealing with the fear that they were truly harmed and finding that they weren't, she'd breathed easier, and continued to try to calm the frightened people sharing her cell. It wasn't working too well, but...

Once her friends finally woke up, she explained their predicament to them and just what the panthers were after, and introduced them to the people in their cell with them.

“They are from the town, then,” Miroku said, nodding when Kagome explained their past to he and Sango.

“It was a good place to escape the wars,” Sango agreed when told of their reasons for living in a hidden town.

“Yeah, until the panther demons found it and made it their headquarters,” Kagome sighed, turning around again when the townspeople began murmuring of their fear once more and praying to Amida. “Don't be afraid,” she encouraged yet again.

“The panthers are so strong,” an older man cried, disheartened despite her encouragement as were the other people there, clutching to each other and their children.

“But someone stronger is coming to rescue us,” Kagome replied soothingly, smiling at the terrified people. Her caring nature was coming to the fore as she attempted to keep them all from losing their hearts to their fears.

“Who?” one man asked, standing up and meeting her gaze head on. He was the only one who had.

“Inuyasha and Kouga,” she answered. “They are coming, and then we will be freed. Don't lose hope!”

“I don't know about Sesshoumaru-sama, though,” Miroku said then, remembering the inuyoukai's angry outburst at his brother.

Kagome froze and almost stopped breathing for a moment. Forcing herself to speak after a few seconds, she looked at the monk with a weak smile. “S-Sesshoumaru?” she asked, wishing that she could ignore that name every time it was mentioned.

“He's battling the panther youkai tribe,” Sango answered, looking with knowing eyes at her friend.

Surprised, she frowned, confused. “Why?”

An uneasy silence fell then, since no one knew what his entire reason was, though both Sango and Miroku were entirely certain that Kagome was a good part of it.

But they couldn't tell her that... because she still didn't know about his mark on her.

~oOo~

“Karan.”

“Come, fight me, Sesshoumaru!” the cat taunted, throwing several fireballs at him and then running, trying to lead his attention from the castle itself. It was apparent that they were trying to delay him. “Take my fire!”

He was not impressed.

He blocked Karan's fireballs with Toukijin disinterestedly, watching with a bored expression as she ran, tossing more fireballs his way.

Definitely not inclined to stand around and play with a neko that was not anywhere near him in strength, Sesshoumaru simply pointed his sword at her and blew not only her fireball away, but her, as well, knocking her into the stone retaining wall of the hei. She fell forward into the moat, her fire doused, and he walked forward slowly to look down at the wet and definitely irritated cat, coldly amused at the look on her face.

A whistling sound alerted him to Touran's ice spear being hurled in his direction and he leapt lightly backwards, landing outside the spear's reach as it hit the ground and turned it to ice for several feet around its impact point.

“I'm impressed,” she said with that same smirk she always seemed to have as she came to the aid of her sister. “I thought you'd be weaker than before.”

“What do you mean?” Sesshoumaru asked, his eyes narrowing. If there was one thing he wasn't, it was weak. That was a word he hated more than he hated anything else. The cat was asking to die with that insult.

“That arm,” she replied. “After all, who was it that cut it off?” she asked mockingly, chuckling at her pointed reference to Inuyasha.

Eyes narrowing dangerously, Sesshoumaru attacked immediately, leaping lightly into the air and flinging an energy assault at her from his swordpoint, which she blocked – barely. The backlash exploded and Sesshoumaru landed in a crouch, then looked up to see his nemesis standing atop the gate in the hei.

“The party will start very soon, now,” she grinned, her fangs flashing in the cold light of the moon. “Come at your leisure,” she laughed and then disappeared into her ice cloud.

Sesshoumaru was getting quite angry at her insults and constant refusal to actually stay and fight. But it told him what they were really doing...  _Delaying tactics – all of this has merely been to keep me from getting into the honmaru. She has that fool's remains settled there, waiting for whatever finish she has planned. As if I will allow her to taunt me and get away with it – or to resurrect an enemy that Chichie-ue defeated in honest combat and destroyed._

_And then there is another matter... their capturing of Kagome. I know Touran scented my mark on her and knows who she has stolen from. For that insult as well she will pay._

The worst insult of all, however, was their belief that he would ever allow a filthy neko to take over his lands and rule them.

It would never happen.

“I will fight you, and I will fight your 'master', Touran. And when I am through, you will never again attempt to take what is mine from me.”

His voice rumbled through the air like the after-echo of thunder before fading to silence as he entered the first and outermost bailey and disappeared from sight.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: If the dialogue in this chapter seems a little stiff and abrupt, that's because it is. Most of it is taken directly from the manga and there isn't much of a smooth flow to it, since it is manga instead of a novel and there is just a big difference between the two. I did add a bit to it in an attempt to smooth it out some, but I don't want to change too much of the scenes that I am taking directly from canon.

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my new Sess/Kag, everyone! I hope it entertains~
> 
> Amber


End file.
